Sweet Sweet Lunatic Sanity
by PsycoDragonKiller
Summary: Sanity has fallen and in its wake a hero drowning in his sins and regrets, never to find solace from his pain. A past more horrifying than can possibly be conceived stalks the shadows, waiting to swallow everything in it's macabre abyss of screams and depraved laughter. The Pit is calling, crying out for the blood it has been deprived of for far too long, and it will have it.
1. Intro and Allegiances

**Hello, readers!**

**As I promised in Blurred Oak Trees, this is the story that was going to be made based off of that one shot. I would like to make a few things known to you all before I begin. First, I would like to make it clear to you all that I do NOT own Warriors Cats or any source such as Roblox where I might get OC ideas or story ideas. Second I would like to explain the story a little bit. Some of you might think that the main character is a "Gary-Stu" or something of the like. I have to agree with that to a certain extent, but let's face it, there are too many GS characters to count. I also think that Blur would be classified as more of a "Glass Cannon" so to speak if you are worried about combat. There will also be some development going on, so it won't be Blur being a solo bad-ass kind of thing where nothing goes wrong or he knows everything. Another thing to consider is that the story that "gave birth" to this little book would be considered something of an Alternate Reality, so please keep this in mind if you had a pre-existing idea of what was or might happen.**

**I hope you give this story a chance and please refrain from complaining about deviations from canon or anything I might put in here along those lines. Constructive criticism is a welcome type of complaint, though, as it allows me to better the material I put out for all of you. Any questions about the story can be answered if you PM them to me. This page will be continually updated as I get more character ideas or want to add more to a character's BIO. I would also ask that you PM me if you have ideas for characters, and I will test them out to see if I can fit them in. If I can't fit the OC in with the clan you want, then I will try to squeeze it in with another, so try to go for the less populated clan list. The Warriors list for Thunderclan is closed until further notice due to a maximized population at the moment, but I am looking to fill the other slots.**

**Thank you and I hope you enjoy!**

**Oh, and I got a message asking about my Roblox name. It's psycochris if anyone wants to play or talk or anything like that.**

**Allegiances**

**Thunderclan:**

**Leader: **

_Darkstar (not one from the books)_ is a strong and loyal cat that cares deeply for those under his command. He never backs down from a challenge, always preferring to stand on the front line with the rest of his warriors. His intimidating size, coupled with his serious and rather quiet attitude that exude a both sense of honor and stalwart leadership are very good reasons why his clan follows him. His leadership skills are phenomenal, tempered by moons of hard training and paws on experience. He was originally a loner before joining up with Thunderclan upon Heronstrike's request. He has a small case of gynophobia that only shows outside of combat and in certain situations. His pelt is a dark gray with black markings along the spine and tail. His eyes are a dark amber. Likes training and watching the stars. Dislikes laziness and cloudy nights.

**Warriors:**

_Heronstrike_ is the brave and energetic Thunder Clan deputy. He always has the energy to spare, but unlike Ashstar who is always very hyper, Heronstrike puts his energy to use by leading continuous patrols or hunting parties. He was the first friend Darkstar had made and has stood by his side no matter what they faced. His fur is brown with black and orange markings. His eyes are a vibrant yellow. Likes being productive and messing with Darkstar. Dislikes fighting.

_Ambersky_ is a strong she-cat, but her shyness tends to hamper her skills. She grew up being told she'd never amount to much, and her self-esteem took a HUGE hit when she learned most of the other clan members thought the same. Blurpetal stood up for her and helped her realize her true potential as a warrior. Because of this, Ambersky developed a crush for the fiery she-cat. Likes Blurpetal and flowers. Dislikes most of the clan and being away from Blurpetal.

_Blurpetal_ is a fiery warrior with a heart of gold. She doesn't back down from a fight, and will always have her clan mates' backs. Despite her love for combat, she can be rather lazy when not being told what to do. This does not mean she won't take the time to annoy Darkstar or mess around with Ambersky. Her fur is pure white, and her eyes are a beautiful amber color. Likes fighting and Ambersky. Dislikes Blurstrike and birds.

_Rockclaw_ is Blur's father. He's a rather lazy cat with a strong sense of duty. Not much is known about him despite the fact that he's a Thunderclan warrior, he can be rather introverted at times, and he is the BEST fighter the clans had ever seen. This leads to the circumstances of his death being called into question quite often. His fur was a pale gray from tail to nose. His eyes were a very bright blue, bordering on white.

_Barkpelt_ is a total flirt. Every female cat in the clan that was around his age had to deal with his annoyingly persistent advances at some point. This led to quite a few awkward situations and beatings for the poor tom. His best friend Rockclaw, who was almost like a brother to him, had to help him out of every single one of his more physical altercations. After Rockclaw's death, he took it upon himself to assume the role of the father for his loner family in hopes of alleviating the pain that Merrygold and the kits must have felt. His fur is a light brown with black lines on the back and tail. Likes flirting with she-cats. Dislikes scary stories and rabbits.

_Fallenskies_ is a kind yet socially awkward tom. He has a hard time conversing with cats he doesn't know and his clumsiness begins to show immediately. He really loves meeting new cats but is usually too shy to talk to them, making the amount of friends he has rather small. It is still a mystery how he not only managed to have Swiftstorm as a mate but made friends with both Blurs. He has a scar on his back left leg from a rather nasty fight with a badger while on patrol. His fur is gray with charcoal and white marks. His eyes are a light green. Likes spending time with Swiftstorm and the two Blurs. Dislikes crowds and being made fun of for his clumsiness.

_Swiftstorm_ is a fierce and rather rude she-cat who enjoys joking around. Her comments almost always carry some sort of insulting tone, even when she doesn't mean it. She is also very stubborn, never backing down from any challenge. This causes her to get in trouble rather often even when it isn't her fault. She has a large scar right above her nose from a fight with Shadowclan over a border issue. Her fur is a light brown with black and tan marks. She has green eyes the same color as the grass around the lake. Likes jokes and Fallenskies. Dislikes being pranked and gatherings.

**Medicine Cat/Apprentice:**

**Apprentices:**

_Sunpaw_ is a serious apprentice, often acting older than she is despite her rather small stature. Her personality is heavily based on her idolization of Darkstar. She heard of his adventures before being made the leader and vowed to one day surpass him in every way as a way of proving her worth to the clan. As the smallest of her litter, she was often made fun of and wants to one day prove to them that size doesn't matter. Her fur is a dark orange with a few small tan lines down her spine to the tip of her tail. Her eyes are a faded amber color. Likes learning and fighting. Dislikes being made fun of for her size.

**Queens:**

**Elders:**

**Kits:**

**Riverclan:**

**Leader:**

_Leafstar_ is a cream colored she-cat with a white belly and brown chest. Both his back and tail are marked with varying shades of brown that blend together peacefully. Her eyes are a gleaming amber that seemed to sparkle in the sunlight. Her parents were avid believers in the old clan laws and raised her to uphold them just as they did, which has had a big effect on the way she leads her clan. She is small but despite her size she is not only incredibly fast but also very strong, something that puts her a little above Blurstrike in terms of combat potential. She is very smart and tends to approach situations with an analytical mindset. She prefers peace to fighting and will do her best to ensure a peaceful alternative has been reached. She is also a very quiet kind of cat but loves large social gatherings and events. Likes loyalty, social events, and (loves) kits. Dislikes getting hurt and the inability to protect others.

**Warriors:**

_Silentshine_ is a blue-grey she-cat with dark gray stripes on her back and tail. Her eyes are a bright blue. She has a slightly humorous personality but is very shy due to her small size that just makes her look really cute. She is a very loyal cat and will fight to her last breath for those she cares about despite her shyness. Silent grew up wanting to be a medicine cat but wound up having a mate. The clan leader forbids it due to her desire to uphold many of the old clan laws and this put her in a tight position. She would have to choose between having the love of her life or pursuing the path she'd wanted to take since she was a kit. To work around this, she asked the medicine cat to teach her everything she needed to know to become one when they both had the time to do so. Likes learning and helping others. Dislikes fighting and fishing (she has the worst of luck).

Hawkgaze is a light brown tom that with white, black and dark brown markings. He has Amber eyes and a black belly. He is really nice and incredibly gentle, but is also fiercely loyal, nearly on the same level as Blurstrike. He can easily forgive others so long as they seek to right whatever wrongs they had committed. He went a while without a mate but eventually fell for Silentshine. They both had kits and he still feels guilty about taking away her chance at being a medicine cat. He was separated from his sister at five moons old by falling into the river. One of Riverclan's warriors saw him and brought him back to camp, where he stayed, holding onto the belief that his sister must have either moved on or was still searching for him. Hawkgaze knew she must have assumed he was dead after the river incident, so he decided not to fault her for continuing on without him if it turned out she did. Likes loyalty, rain, quiet, and kit. Dislikes disloyalty and lying.

_Shadedflower_ is a black she-cat with white/gray markings and blue eyes. She's a very sneaky cat, using her preference for silence and kindness to secretly gather desired information. She doesn't do it with malicious intent, but rather pure curiosity. Everything she hears becomes a guarded secret only announced if it is to save a life. She is very quick and quiet, a perfect combination when coupled with her sneaking skills that help in many situations. Despite being a soft-spoken cat, she can be prone to moments of extreme worry, giving her nicknames such as "the clan's mother."

**Medicine Cat/Apprentice:**

_Stormeye_ is a gray she-cat with black, white and dark gray markings that transition nicely along the length of her tail and along her back. Her eyes are a shade of blue that matches the water of the lake with a dark gray spot surrounding her left eye. She is the grumpy medicine cat of Riverclan and is currently the oldest one in alive in the four clans. She can always be seen complaining about something not matter how small it is, and one of the biggest sources of her complaints are apprentices. Being old and grumpy, she doesn't quite appreciate the hyper behavior of recent apprentices. While others think she might hate apprentices, she really is quite proud of most of them, the main exception being Blurstrike in his first few days among the clans. She also believes that all tomcats are idiots. Likes those with common sense, kits, and apprentices, elders, and rain. Dislikes Blurstrike, others doubting her healing skills and generally being bothered.

**Apprentices:**

**Queens:**

**Elders:**

**Kits:**

**Windclan:**

**Leader: **

_Ashstar_ is a fun loving she-cat with a bad habit of invading personal space. She loves to play, and will sometimes miss subtle hints from others when she should calm down or stop talking. Her mate Solidstep has the unfortunate duty of trying to keep her under control. Many question her leadership, but none would dare to question her bravery and dedication to her clan. Hidden beneath the playful exterior is a ruthless and efficient tactician with skill passed down from each previous leader. She has a tan colored pelt with light brown markings on her tail and paws. Likes to play with the kits and apprentices. Dislikes bullies and Darkstar.

**Warriors:**

_Solidstep_ is a very quiet and calm male. He was almost the complete opposite of his mate Ashstar. He would often be found watching clouds or walking around the territory. His hunting skills are without a doubt the best of the clan cats. This often led to him leading patrols or expeditions out of the territories. Ashstar loved to send him out to explore the areas outside of clan influence. He has a dark orange pelt with amber eyes. Likes cloud watching and sleeping. Dislikes work.

_Bumblefur_ is a white she-cat with orange and black markings. Her eyes are a light shade of green. She's a loyal cat that prefers actions over words. She will always act in the way she sees best to help those around her. Her bravery that allows her to act as quickly and selflessly as she does has made her calm and nearly impossible to crack under pressure. No matter how bad the situation has been she would be able to think and find a way to achieve success. She holds the position of Deputy of the clan and has never once abused her power. Likes training others, helping others and hunting elusive prey. Dislikes disobedience, having little or no alternatives in any given situation, and self-depreciating statements.

**Medicine Cat/Apprentice:**

_Braveheart_ is a gray she-cat with a white chest and dark gray stripes scattered about the rest of her form. Her left eyes is a faded green while the right one is a bright blue. She is heavily scarred and her tail is completely removed, all of which she refuses to talk to anyone about not matter how much they ask. Another interesting fact about this cat is that due to a disorder involving her nervous system she is incapable of feeling pain anywhere on her body. Braveheart is a very mysterious and odd cat who gives others the impression she always knows more than she lets on, which is usually the case. While she mostly exudes an aura of toughness it is easy for her to start acting nice if she absolutely has to, though her suspicious gait tends to put others on edge even when she tries to be nice to them. Likes: . Dislikes: .

**Apprentices:**

_Drearypaw_ is a brown she-cat with white fur on her tail tip, chest, belly, and paws. She has orange and lighter brown stripes on her back and legs. Dreary is rather silly and sometimes clumsy she-cat, but can be very outgoing if she isn't getting depressed over something. She is a very difficult cat to talk to sometimes because you never know if what you say is going to send her into a temporary depression or not. Likes: . Dislikes: .

**Queens:**

**Elders:**

**Kits:**

**Shadowclan:**

**Leader: **

_Ebonstar_ is a strong she-cat with a black pelt and dark brown eyes. She's determined and strong when around others, but alone or with friends she is known to be something of a nervous wreck. Her mate Sparrowleaf is her main source of strength. She was made the clan's leader only a few days after being made the deputy, which occurred one moon before due to the previous deputy's death by drowning. She loves her clan mates greatly despite the fact that they all had a part in making her become deputy, a duty she did not want any part of. Likes to stare up at the stars and moon, spending time with Sparrowleaf, taking calming walks and spending time with her friends. Dislikes violence and large crowds.

**Warriors:**

_Sparrowleaf_ is a strong male warrior who used to be a medicine cat. He has a light brown pelt with small black highlights around his ears, tail tip, and paws. Is fiercely loyal and very courageous, but can be a major klutz at times. He can often be found wandering around and listening to the sounds of nature or cuddling with his mate Ebonstar. After it was announced he was mates with Ebonstar he decided to push more of his focus into being a warrior instead, though he could still be seen helping out Fernfrost if he has the time or motivation. Likes sparring with friends, spending time with Ebonstar and learning about areas outside the clans. Dislikes awkward silences and mud.

_Fluffear_ is the largest and strongest warrior of Shadow Clan as well as its deputy. He has a fluffy tan pelt with dark brown markings on his tail, paws, and ears. His eyes are a bright blue. He is a very strong and battle-hungry warrior but has a soft spot for kits and apprentices. He can be rather protective of his son Oakpath. Enjoys fighting, training apprentices and playing with kits. Dislikes birds and snakes.

_Oakpath_ is a newly promoted warrior. His fur is a shade of brown reminiscent of the tree he was named after, with the occasional dark spot on his back or tail. He's very strong, with a hardy physique that earned him his warrior name. Rather bullheaded in combat style, Oak will charge headfirst into a fight to scatter the forces and draw attention to himself so his teammates can attack without any problems. He grew up having the Warrior Code and fighting style beaten into him by his father Fluffear, sometimes literally. Despite the rough treatment in his formative years, he wouldn't have wanted it any other way after seeing the bastion of strength and determination he'd become. He is loyal and hardworking, often times running himself ragged to ensure things get done. He would later be partnered with Blur as his mentor, much to his eternal chagrin. His pastime of swimming led to a few jokes about him being a Riverclan warrior in disguise. Likes training, fighting and occasionally swimming in very shallow waters. Dislikes Blur and waking up early.

_Birchclaw_ is a dark brown she-cat with a black belly and a combination of white and light brown markings on her back and tail. Her eyes are a shade of amber that is similar to Hawkgaze's. She is a very aggressive cat that tends to solve her problems with violence. If it turns out that violence won't work she goes into a panic that scales with the severity of the situation. She hates the other clan cats besides Ebonstar and tends to look down on them. She develops some level of respect for Blurstrike after their fight when he is accepted into the clan. She grew up with her brother Hawkgaze as orphaned loners until they were five moons old and they were separated. Hawkgaze fell into a river and was pulled by the current to Riverclan, which would quickly become his new home. Birchclaw made her way to Shadowclan thinking he was dead and was accepted almost immediately. Likes fighting and violence. Dislikes entire clan (except leader and Blurstrike).

**Medicine Cat/Apprentice:**

_Fernfrost_ is the clan's Medicine Cat. Her fur is predominantly white, but specks of black could be seen on her back and paws. Her eyes are a dark blue. Fernfrost is a cranky old cat that loves to complain. She is often found sorting herbs, even when she had just sorted them moments ago. When she was a kit, she aspired to be the greatest warrior in the clan. That was ruined when she fell during a patrol, crippling her right hind leg and losing the sight in her right eye. She accepted her new role in the clan rather quickly though most knew that she was breaking down on the inside over what she had lost. She now trains the future medicine cats as well as any warriors looking to add to their skills. Blur would later go to her with Oakpath for teachings on field medicine. Likes to talk with her apprentice Softpaw. Dislikes romance, almost all other cats, and sorting herbs.

_Softpaw_ is Fernfrost's apprentice. Her fur is a faded tan with darker shading on her paws and ears. Her eyes are a bright amber. She is very shy and soft spoken but seems to always be happy no matter what she sees or hears. She always loved plants, and helping other cats, so when she heard about an opening as Fern's apprentice she jumped at the chance at pursuing a focus that incorporates her favorite things. She will often be found curled up next to Fernfrost, or going out to collect any needed herbs. Likes spending time with Fernfrost and helping others (especially Blur, who she has taken to calling big brother). Dislikes violence and yelling.

**Apprentices:**

**Queens:**

**Elders:**

**Kits:**

**Loners/Rogues/Kittypets/other:**

_Blurstrike(r) _is a very strong cat, but his strength stems more from speed and skill rather than raw power, plus a little something extra from his time in captivity. He grew up experiencing suffering and loss around every corner, mostly after his mother died, and it eventually broke him. He is now a mentally and emotionally unstable loner with a nearly insatiable hunger for battle and blood. He can be very loyal once his trust is earned, but doing so is a very difficult endeavor and most are too put off by his sadism and fierce eyes to do so. His pelt is pure, almost snowy white in coloration and his eyes are a piercing violet. He likes fighting, fluffy things, running and the color purple. He dislikes easy fights, anyone that talks too much, Blurpetal and Ashstar (just because of her hyperactive personality).

_Merrygold_ is Blur's mother. She was originally a Windclan cat but was exiled due to reasons she refuses to talk about. She is quiet and reserved, often labeled shy and correctly so, but can become very vicious around those who would try to harm her family. She had lived peacefully in the abandoned house she found, until the day she met Rockclaw and started going on adventures with him and other Thunderclan members. Her pelt is solid black with white on her chest and tail tip.

_Mira_ is Blur's sister and was named after Merrygold's old friend. She's a little shy like her mother but won't hesitate to join Blur in exploring new areas or going for walks near human houses. She also joins in on some of Blur's training lessons, in which she always seems to utterly annihilate him. Mira has gray fur and

_Dancer_ is a wise old cat with nearly unparalleled skill. He grew up living a rather peaceful life as the pet of a well-known musician, and as such developed a rather refined taste in music. He grew curious one day and set out to explore the city to see all it had to offer. He returned to see the burnt ruins of his once respectable home being cleared away by humans with large machines, his owner nowhere to be found. Now homeless, Dancer set out to make a new life for himself and to find out how the fire was started. He met Blur while he was being chased by a pair of dogs and helped fight them off. With nothing better to do, he decided to join the young tom on his little adventures in the city. His fur is a solid black with no markings and his eyes are a dark brown. Likes music and dancing (as much as a quadruped can). Dislikes bad music and fires.

**Mentions:**

**This is where those who gave me OC's will be mentioned. I do not claim the OCs listed here, the person next to he/she/it does. If I don't have a person's name or account (N/A) then that means I either forgot who suggested the OC, they didn't wanna be mentioned, or they didn't have/give me a name in the first place. If you recognize your OC and want me to add your name then just message me. I will not try to steal your OCs. I would also ask that if any details of the OC are incorrect that you message me ASAP so I can correct it before I get to points where I may incorporate them.**

**Darkstar:** EidosZiomo (friend from Roblox)

**Braveheart:** raynbowsherbert (Roblox)

**Tawnyscare:** Alyssa39454 (Roblox)

**Sunpaw: **Saraheartrocks (Roblox)

**Heronstrike: **20iswan1 (Roblox)

**Bumblefur:** geckos4ever101 (Roblox)

**Ashstar:** (N/A)

**Silentshine: **(N/A)

**Ambersky:** (N/A)

**Swiftstorm:** Asksky

**Fallenskies:** pray-for-thedead ( )

**Shadedflower: **(N/A)

**Drearypaw:** Samkittylove (Roblox)

**Birchclaw: **sophiedog17 (Roblox)

**Stormeye: **sophiedog17 (Roblox)

**Hawkgaze: **sophiedog17 (Roblox)

**Leafstar: **puppynubby (Roblox)


	2. CH1: Tell Me a Story, My Friend

Ebonstar stared up into the night sky, the shining stars glistening in her wide brown eyes, and the moon's faded light made her black pelt shine faintly. It had been almost fifty moons since the clans had fought and won against the Dark Forest, yet that event was still present in everyone's minds as stories. Thirty moons ago Firestar's children had passed away, rising to join their father in Starclan alongside their friends. Their kits would soon follow, alongside many others of their generation. Twenty moons ago the previous leader of Shadow Clan, Galestar, gave her last life alongside her deputy and mate Twinstreak protecting their kits from an unexpected badger attack. The duo grew up together and formed an invincible bond forged in fire, only to have their lives erased in a foolish attempt at hunting that same badger when they were only eleven moons old.

It was after a rough ten moons of arguing on who should be the new leader that Ebonstar, then Ebonpelt, had ascended to the position of clan leader after exhibiting great leadership skills in battle. Darkstar had decided to capitalize on the opportunity that Galestar's death provided and led a group of his finest warriors into Shadowclan territory to gain what they could out of it before trying to take over, but thanks to Ebonstar's quick thinking and analytical skill she directed her warriors in a well-executed ambush the forced the intruders out. Since then she was lucky enough to be able to see the last members of the old generation off in their peaceful ascension to Starclan, even though she felt as if they were being called far too early.

Many other changes had been made since the day of that terrible conflict with the damned souls of the Dark Forest. One major change was medicine cats being allowed to take mates. The news brought quite the uproar at first, but eventually it was accepted by the clan cats after they saw no harm being caused. Another change was the policy towards rogues. Thanks to the efforts of a brave group of cats, a horde of rogues and loners came to aid in the fight against the Dark Forest, preventing some scouts from slipping around the clan forces to capture kits or queens. From that point on the clans were a little less hostile than before. That didn't mean that rogues and loners could just prance about in the territories, but at the very least conflicts had been less common.

But perhaps the biggest and most life changing event, was the arrival of the city cats. Some cats from the city, the place where twolegs gathered in very large groups with huge stone dens, had started to come to the clan territories. They all were curious about clan lifestyle, and would visit the borders regularly to hear about tales of battles or adventures that had been passed down from the earlier generations. Some of these cats moved on to create their own clans and would occasionally keep in touch with the lake territories. Other cats actually joined one of the four clans, willingly sharing knowledge about the city and the many wonders it held. Of course, there were quite a few sad or disturbing stories about that place as well, but that was to be expected since no place is perfectly peaceful.

The clans started adopting the terms the city cats used, like cars and humans to help ease the cultural differences between the groups. This change wasn't quite as welcome in the eyes of the elders and traditionalists, but they seemed not to mind quite as much as they did compared to the announcement of medicine cats taking mates, especially since it helped make the stories sound better. Most of them still saw this as a tainting of the original clan ways just as they did with the medicine cats mating issue, though most just thought they either wanted something to complain about or just thought the words sounded dumb. Ebonstar had to agree that the terms city cats used were strange.

"It has been a rough twenty moons," Ebonstar mused quietly while shifting into a better position to see the stars. "In such a short time I saw the death of our old leader, became the clan's new leader, and mated with the love of my life. Oh, how fast life passes us by. I hope I'm around long enough to at least see the next few generations grow into strong and loyal warriors."

"With thoughts like that you will make yourself seem more like an elder instead of a healthy young leader Ebonstar!"

Ebonstar turned around with a smirk, having been able to spot the cat that owned that voice a mile away. It was her mate Sparrowleaf. He was the clan's medicine cat, and was more than proficient in his field. He was a city cat that knew quite a bit about healing before arriving here, and with clan knowledge added on he became one of the best to have ever lived. The elders and some of the warriors had a fit when the two announced they were going to be parents, but Sparrowleaf's decision to train someone to take his place silenced a lot of that. Sparrowleaf padded over and collapsed next to her. His light brown fur was accented with small black highlights around his ears, tail tip and paws, and it clashed with Ebonstar's solid black pelt.

"So why are you out here staring at stars?" Sparrowleaf asked as he nuzzled into Ebonstar's neck. She nuzzled the top of his head and purred in content, a happy yet weary smile on her face.

"I'm just looking for answers Sparrow. I've been getting this foreboding feeling as of late and I don't know why. I was hoping Starclan would give me an answer, or at least a sign of what it might be." Ebonstar replied. Ever since her promotion to leader ten moons ago she'd been getting this nagging feeling in the back of her head, like a predator was stalking her. She was growing nervous, and didn't want to live every day like this. Sitting outside staring at stars didn't seem to help though.

"Well I don't think tha-" Sparrowleaf paused, a shiver running down his spine. He closed his eyes and his breathing grew slow and steady, almost like he was asleep. Ebonstar knew what this meant. A prophecy was coming their way. Another tragedy was going to befall the clans, and someone was going to have to play hero again. Sparrowleaf's breath suddenly changed into the heavy pants of a fearful prey being chased by a cruel and tenacious predator. He turned to Ebonstar with wide eyes. This must really be bad.

"I have received a prophecy. You will not like the sound of this." Sparrowleaf let out a small whimper before continuing. _"A beast of purest snow and soaked in the blood of many, shall arrive save the clans with the guidance of the path of oak trees."_

"That can't be the reason you're so nervous. You must have seen something else." Ebonstar urged, but it was obviously an order to hear about what he might have seen as well. Just being told that some beast would save them shouldn't have made him this disturbed. Sparrowleaf buried his face in Ebonstar's shoulder, fearful tears pouring from his eyes as he told her what he saw.

"I-I saw bodies. They were dead bodies. Huge piles of them sat rotting in a large room seemingly made of that stuff city cats call metal. Blood and bits of flesh were scattered around where there weren't any bodies. In the middle sat a white cat. An aura of pure bloodlust hung around him as he let the blood soak into his fur. His eyes were closed, but he had this huge insane grin on his face." Sparrowleaf couldn't take it anymore and broke down sobbing and shaking at what he was about to say. "He turned to me. That horrible, sick grin of his still plastered on his blood soaked face. He was about to open his eyes when my vision was suddenly blocked with a splash of blood. A loud and echoing screech of pain and anger kept me from hearing any words he was about to say."

Ebonstar sat horrified at what she'd heard. That cat must have been the beast of purest snow, but if that was true how cold they get someone who seemingly reveled in blood and death help them?

How could such a monster save them all?

**\- City Streets: two miles from the lake (white tom's POV) -**

These city streets, the stone labyrinth full of danger and sadness where the hopeful and adventurous go to die, was the place I have called home for so long. I've familiarized myself with the exact layout of most of this city, allowing me to keep my eyes closed as I navigated the streets through scent, sound and touch. Humans seemed to ignore my presence as if they didn't even know I was there, while other cats sent what seemed like nervous glances or wide eyed stares my way, but didn't stop to stare. Even without looking I could practically feel the oppressive force of hundreds of these "glances." The many eyes locked onto me didn't faze me at all because I knew why they stared, and I couldn't care less. They know who I am, what I am, what I've done, and what I might do to them.

"Such weak little fools they are." I mused in a soft voice. "They stare openly yet they do not have the courage to even say a single word. Then again, I'd probably wind up scaring them off or killing them. Either one sounds amusing enough." I giggled and started to hum a joyful little tune. I'd heard the song at one of those human gatherings. It was interesting to watch actually. The lights and sounds were hypnotizing, while whatever that apparently important human on an elevated platform was singing seemed to meld with the beautiful sounds that I assumed came from the other humans on the platforms around him. I wish I knew how they did that, but my only friend who truly knew never told me.

I stepped to the right to avoid some stupid human with a bag running by, two more covered in blue chased him yelling stuff that held little interest to me. I had someone to meet after all, and I didn't want to keep him waiting. I'd heard about his recent location two days ago and hoped that he was still there. If not, then I'd have to hunt down the cat who gave me the bad information and punish him. I really didn't want to do that. Nick was a rather useful informant and I didn't want to have to seek out another one. Starclan knows how hard finding a good quality information source is. I was looking for an old friend from my days in The Pits and my informant told me to look for an alley with two guards. One was supposed to be brown with tan markings and the other was grey with black markings. They both wore collars of the same color and design that marked them as a rival group.

After walking for a little while longer and narrowly avoiding a car that was leaving one of the larger human buildings, I heard the sound of two cats napping near the entrance of an alleyway just up ahead. Now I knew how dangerous it could be out here what with all the escaped killers from The Pits, so I knew that they either didn't know about the possible danger or they were the danger. This needed investigating so I got closer and checked to see if they were the ones I was looking for. I opened my eyes for the first time since waking up that day and let them scan the two before me. Sure enough, the two sleeping guards matched the information I was given. They had matching grey collars and tan pelts, meaning they must be twins. I tried I walk past them, but they woke up as I placed a paw into the alley. The left one charged me and knocked me away before I could take another step.

"Now hold on a minute good sir. We were not told to expect any visitors, especially someone as young as you. What are you doing trying to enter our territory?" The left one asked. His tone was an ignorant one, and it matched his sharp yet beautiful green eyes. My tail twitched in irritation. This one's eyes annoyed me, and I don't like being annoyed. I made that plain to the fool before me by lashing out with a pair of high slashes, my claws tearing into his beautiful green eyes.

One of the orbs was dangling torn and dripping from its socket while the other was just torn open. He yowled in pain and shook his head, screaming about how he couldn't see. I swiftly slit his throat and reveled in the spray of that delicious crimson fluid running through his veins. I laid down and let the blood soak into my fur, shivers of delight shooting through my spine at the feeling of the sticky red fluid soaking into my pelt. I was brought out of my thoughts when I heard the other guard's whimpers.

"Are you going to get in my way as well?" I asked him in a calm voice. I could see a slight tint of fear in his eyes as they widened greatly. He probably wasn't expecting someone my age to be able to kill so easily or brutally. I purred in amusement as I moved closer to him. He backed up until he reached the wall, still shivering and whimpering even louder. I knocked him into the wall and held him there on his hind legs. My amused purrs grew louder as I rubbed up against him in a very suggestive way, enjoying the friction between our bodies. Leaning in close, I asked in a whisper if something was wrong.

"Are you scared, or did I perhaps make you excited? Speak fool, I hate when others remain silent like this. It bores me and wastes precious time, but most importantly it bores me." I licked one of his ears as I finished, the fairly muscular guard "standing up straight" so to speak. I giggled at him, before ramming my claws into his shoulders so I could have a better grip on him. This allowed me to increase the friction between us. I could tell he was barely holding in yelps of pain as I twisted my claws inside the wounds, widening the holes and increasing blood flow. Blood was seeping out of the puncture wounds and dripping down my forelegs at an increasing rate, yet he did nothing. He remained as still as he could while I ground our groins together and tore into his shoulders slowly.

That was no fun. He wasn't fighting back! Why would he bore me like this? Did he hate me? Oh well, I guess this toy was broken. I slowly let a paw slide from his should and up to his neck, claws unsheathed and thirsty for blood. A quick thrust had the guard choking on his own blood.

I watched him bleed out as I kept him pinned to the wall, my lips curled into a smile. These two were such pathetic little fools. I could find more strength and skill from house cats! I scoffed and went back to what I was doing, the blood now coming out in thicker streams and making the friction between our bodies that much more pleasurable. After a few moments I remembered what I was here to do and left the spent corpse behind as I made my way deeper into the alley. The place seemed empty, but I found that unlikely with who I was after. He must have had some more guards ready. My hunch was proven right when three more cats jumped out from behind a dumpster. Another walked out from behind a trash can. I knew they weren't trained, so this would be easy to deal with. I mean, they never even tried to get involved when I had myself wide open to attack earlier. They charged at me in a horde so I used an obvious opening to get behind them and pounce on the one on my far left.

Not wanting to waste time with this fight, I tore into the back of his neck. My claws and teeth pulled flesh from bone in a rapid series of strikes that left his damage spine visible to all. A couple more slashes and the bones were separated, disconnecting his spine from his head. I jumped off the already dead and now mutilated enemy to dash out of the way of the charge from the one to my right. The attack was clumsy at best, and I was left with a wide open target right on his neck. I found it horribly pathetic how they lacked such simple training as to protect the vital points on the body. A well placed thrust of my claws had guard number two down for the count.

I grunted as one of the others managed to tackle me. The tan tom clawed viciously at me, but I remained calm and used this chance to strike at his unprotected stomach with my hind legs. He tumbled off me and into one of his partners, giving me the chance to get back on my feet. A quick look at the last two revealed that they were arguing with each other, leaving themselves open for attack. It was sad really, how incompetent these guards were. Taking the time to just sit back and chat when your skill level is horrifyingly low is not smart, more so when your opponent's standard skills eclipse almost all the cats in this city. I attacked the one on the left and cut open his throat. The last guard yelped in shock when his partner's blood splattered on the ground right in front of him.

"Do you recognize me?" I asked with a leisurely flick of my tail. I sat down with a sigh, ignoring the blood pooling around me, though it was hard. I so wanted to just lay down and let it soak into my fur, but I didn't dare let my guard down in front of this one. Sure he was weak, but even a well-placed strike from a weakling can fell a seasoned fighter if he or she wasn't careful. I also worried about him leaving and robbing me of the chance at another kill, even though it would lack any real challenge just like the other ones I'd already killed. The difference between them and this one was just the fact that they just wouldn't let me pass, while this one didn't even do a thing. I shook my head and regarded him with a cold stare.

"If any of you did, then none of you would have tried to fight me, so here's what I'll do. If you run away right now, and never speak of me to anyone else, then I will let you live. Tell anyone I'm in the area and what I'm here for, and I will hunt you down and kill you. This is your choice to make. What is your answer?" I offered up these generous choices with a sick little grin worming its way onto my face. Oh, it was so fun watching him squirm.

The remaining guard nodded weakly and started to leave the alley, but didn't get very far. I cackled as the poor fool hit the ground with a thud, his throat torn open and leaking blood. These guards were worse than pathetic, they were worthless! The obvious futility of their efforts didn't deter them, and that alone was just too amusing of a thought. After calming down and moving the bodies out of the way so it wouldn't seem as suspicious to any passerby, I went into the deepest part of the alley, where I found a crudely built human shelter. I saw a hole in the wall and crawled inside. I looked around and couldn't help but appreciate the skill of the owner. They really knew how to improvise.

It was a tall wooden construct with various rusty human tools hanging on the walls or sitting on wooden ledges. A hole high up on the left wall allowed sunlight to slip in and light the large room alongside the window on the adjacent wall. A small path led up to the hole, so I assumed there must be another exit up there. Some decently made beds were in corners or places where warmth might most likely be found. A few places for food storage were found next to the hole I entered through along with a broken pipe leaking water as a drink source. An improvised ramp to the right of the entrance led up to the higher levels, where the cat I was seeking could very well be.

"Do you like my new home? I made it look as tidy as possible in anticipation of your arrival, Blur Striker."

I knew that voice. That was the cat I was here to meet. I looked up to where the voice came from and smiled at the speaker. The cat was a tall and lanky tom with a faded black pelt and dark brown eyes. His muzzle had a dusting of white fur, signifying old age. Another telltale sign of old age is that his movements are less elegant than they used to be. His title as the Ebony Dancer was something many in this part of the city coveted, but lacked the skill to obtain. His real name was Rufus, but I preferred to call him Dancer.

"It's a nice place to live, Dancer." I replied with a smile directed at my longtime friend. "Despite being in the busiest area of the city, it's almost like a little slice of the peaceful planes of Starclan. This place is amazing. Did you really fix this place into a home by yourself?"

"That I did," Dancer said as he walked down the ramp by the entrance. He walked to the group of beds and laid down on one, motioning to one of the fluffier beds next to him. I took his invitation and laid down with a sigh, though I was a little embarrassed to be getting fresh blood on one of his beds. It was nice to lay down in a comfy bed instead of on the hard ground or resting in a slimy hole left abandoned for moons. I stretched out and smiled up at the wooden ramp above me. The peace one could find in here was rare in a city like this. I rolled over and gazed at Dancer, his peaceful gaze making my lips curve up into a genuine smile.

"You know why I'm here, don't you?" I asked, my smile becoming a forced one. He nodded, eyes softening as he moved to get more comfortable. I did the same, preparing myself for a long story. "You do realize this isn't quite the happy tale. I don't want to burden an old friend with this depressing story."

"I want to know." Dancer whispered, assuring me it was alright. "I've been through a lot as well, and we had a deal. I helped you that day in exchange for a few dead cats and the story of your life from birth to the time we met."

"Very well my friend, let me regale you with the glorious tale that is mine own kithood!" I began with a fancy introduction, complete with the posh theatre voice. Chuckles of amusement rewarded my efforts. "It all began ten moons ago, when I was born. Now you may have thought I was born in this city, but that is not true. I was born in an abandoned house near the forest where the legendary Four Clans are located. My father was a cat from Thunderclan and my mother was a loner. They met when my father broke away from his patrol, following a scent he didn't recognize. After following it for a bit he met my mother in a moonlit glade, the light of the moon shining in my mother's eyes and giving her the appearance of a Starclan cat. A creature of pure beauty. They had a rocky start, but eventually after a series of rather interesting events they became mates. I was the second kit to pop out of their union."

**\- Ten Moons Ago: Abandoned Twoleg Den (two story house with half the garage collapsed) (Third Person POV) -**

"Push sweetheart, push," Yelled a pale grey tom cat. You had to commend the guy for his enthusiasm. His bright blue eyes locked onto the cat's eyes in front of him. The other cat, a black she-cat with a white chest and tail tip, yowled in pain as she did as she was told. With this last bit of effort, a small female kit with grey fur slid from her womb and onto a piece of fluffy cloth. The kit mewled pathetically as it twitched and wriggled on the cloth. The tom immediately wrapped the kit in the cloth to keep it warm and placed it on a plush tan pillow next to the mother. After the kit was taken care of, the tom grabbed another piece of cloth and laid it down in preparation for the next kit.

With another burst of strength and a loud yowl of pain, another kit was brought into the world. This time it was a male. The adult male followed the same procedure as he did with the other kit, and laid it next to its sibling. After taking care of the second kit, the tom ran over to the she-cat and helped clean the blood and other fluids off of her. She gasped and panted from the exertion that had been birthing the two kits. She pulled the tom in close and nuzzled his cheek.

"Oh Rockclaw, they look so cute!" The she-cat gushed as she pulled the pillow closer to her and leaned in to nuzzle one of the kits. She unwrapped them and began to clean them, a huge grin plastered on her face while doing so. Rockclaw nodded, not able to find words to describe his pride and happiness at what he saw. Two healthy kits: one a white male the other a grey female. He couldn't wait to see them grow up into strong and independent adults. The thought of seeing them, in the midst of their adulthood, living great lives with possible mates and kits of their own was a wonderful thought. It was every parent's dream to see their children grow up into a healthy and successful adult.

"They must have taken after you then, Merrygold." Rockclaw mused as he nuzzled the little newborns. They squealed and latched onto his nose. "So what do you wish to name them?"

That was the difficult part. They had been so hyped up over the idea of having kits that they never got around to thinking up names for them. While they were brainstorming ideas, they failed to notice that one of the kits, the albino male, had started wriggling around in an attempt at moving. It managed to crawl to Merrygold and nuzzle into her side with a cute little squeak. Merrygold and Rockclaw jumped in shock when they heard the sound and turned to the little kitten buried in Merrygold's side. They were shocked that the kit actually was able to move so easily, let alone fast enough not to be noticed. Rockclaw chuckled and nodded, seemingly deciding on something.

"We shall name this one Blur, in honor of his insane speed and sneaking skills." Rockclaw announced in a strong a noble tone of voice. His authoritative proclamation lost all seriousness when he broke down laughing alongside Merrygold. It reminded them so much of the old leader of Thunderclan that they couldn't hold in their snickers. The other kit moved much more slowly over to Merrygold and nuzzled softly into the crook of her foreleg. The parents smiled at the kitten and knew exactly what to call her.

"Mira," They said, in perfect unity. The soft and calm nature of the kit reminded them of one of their friends, a kittypet named Mira. They'd met her a moon ago while out for a romantic moonlit walk. The she-cat, nearly the exact same shade of grey as the kitten, had been walking the opposite direction to the path they'd been using. The couple stopped to chat with the grey she-cat, who had greeted them and asked their names. She asked to accompany them and they said yes. From that point on, the three became good friends. They hunted together, explored areas outside the forest together, and even slept together sometimes during the winter. They were inseparable.

"I wish she was able to be here for this." Merrygold grumbled. "It sucks that she had to move away with her human family."

"Yeah," Rockclaw sighed. "I could just imagine her gushing over them: saying how cute and cuddly they were while snuggling them with that cute little squeak of hers."

Mira had moved away a week ago with her human family. They moved to the big city, where the father in the family had found a job doing something Mira called "lab work." The terms that cat was learning confused the couple more often than not. They assumed she spent too much time around her humans. She was a rather impressionable cat after all. A rustling from a nearby bush drew their attention.

A brown tom walked leisurely out of the bush. His back had three black lines, with three rings of the same color on his tail near the base. His bright blue eyes scanned the area before locking onto the couple. He smiled and padded over, shouting a greeting to the couple. Rockclaw got up and greeted the other tom, the two chuckling and pushing each other like apprentices. The newly arrived tom walked over to Merrygold and nuzzled her in a friendly way. She pushed back just as roughly, giggling as the warrior was put off balance for a second.

"I see you popped out the little brats. Must have really sucked," The tom said with a grin. "I'm glad I'm not a she-cat. I can mate all I want and not worry about getting pregnant!"

"Oh shut up you horny beast," Merrygold mumbled. She was blushing from one of the embarrassing tom's usual topics of choice. A grin split across her face at that moment and she batted at him with her free paw. "You really need to find yourself a good mate, Barkpelt. Though that might be a little hard, since most she-cats don't want to keep getting pregnant!"

"Oh please, with my love making skills I could make even the most reluctant she-cats beg for my dick." Barkpelt stated with a suggestive grin. He loved bragging about his love making skills, but hardly had a chance to prove them true or false. Rockclaw Chuckled at him and shook his head. The two had grown up together in Thunderclan. They were inseparable, unless he was visiting Merrygold, then he would just disappear. Barkpelt's face contorted into a serious expression as he cut to the chase for being there.

"I'm truly sorry to be breaking up this moment, but we have some trouble you need to help us with Rockclaw." Barkpelt began in a solemn tone that turned into a bored one. "Some fox has been sighted in our territory and is harassing our hunting parties. We need you to help track it down and kill it."

Merrygold gazed worriedly at her mate, not wanting him to go. She knew he'd get injured, he always did when he got in a fight. His brutish tactics would put him in the medicine den more often than was common among the clan cats despite his skills. Rockclaw kissed her on the lips, as well as placing a quick kiss on each kit's head, before leaving the den with his old friend. He stood tall, not afraid of what he was about to face. He never showed fear. He was a strong warrior that only feared not being able to help his comrades.

That was about a week ago.

The kits had opened their eyes, and were already out and about causing trouble. They loved to play, but Blur enjoyed running more than anything else. If he was bored, he ran. If he was angry, he ran. He'd find any excuse possible to run. His runs weren't just little dashes around the area. They also included practices in agility and maneuverability. His natural grace and accumulating skill made him a nightmare to deal with when he wanted to be. His sister Mira was a different story. She loved to lounge around and soak up the sun. She also enjoyed swimming, and would always be found near water. Merrygold assumed that there must be some latent Riverclan blood in her.

"Mommy, there's a cat that wants to talk to you. He says his name is Barkpelt." Blur told his mother as he charged into their den. Merrygold shot to her feet and ran out of the den, telling Blur he could come if he wanted. Not one to be left out of the loop, Blur charged into the brush after his mother. In a few seconds they came across a large clearing. This was the clearing that Merrygold trained her kits in. Sitting in the middle was Barkpelt, eyes closed and head tilted downwards. Merrygold charged across the clearing at maximum speed and glomped the poor Thunderclan warrior, squeezing him tightly.

"Barkpelt, it's so wonderful to see you again! How've you been this past week?" She greeted her old friend with a wide smile, "Where's Rockclaw? Don't you be telling me he's trying to sneak up on me or something?"

"H-hello Merrygold, it's nice to see y-you again as well. Can you let up? I-I can hardly breathe." Barkpelt's reply lacked his usual cheer, and the mother and son picked up on this easily. Blur mostly noticed the fact that his reply lacked any enthusiasm. He didn't know if this was a bad thing or not, but Blur and his mother knew that something must have happened. "Rockclaw is... He's..." Barkpelt fell silent for a moment, before saying the most dreaded words a she-cat could hear.

"I'm sorry Merrygold, but Rockclaw is dead."

There it was, her greatest fears were realized. Those words cut her right to the core. Rockclaw was dead. Her strong and fearless mate was gone. She could remember all those moons spent meeting together in romantic meetings on clear summer nights with not a single care in the world. During the colder seasons they would gather in her home and sleep under the thick cloth sheets of her bed, watching the world through the dusty windows. Now the one who had shared those experiences with her was gone forever. The tom that had been there to comfort her in times of need and offer advice in times of uncertainty was dead, and he wouldn't even get to meet his own kits! That thought was too much to bear, and she broke down sobbing. Wails of agony pierced the silence of the clearing as she collapsed, her sorrow sapping all of her strength. Blur jumped in shock and tried to comfort his mother. She pulled the kit close and sobbed into his tiny form.

"Mommy, who is Rockclaw? Is he the same cat you kept telling Mira and I about all this time? The one who would come back to see us, our father?" Blur asked his mother. This cat must be important for his mother to break down crying like this. It just had to be the same cat that he was told about, but if that was the case, then one of his parents was dead. He might not have known the cat, but that thought still cut rather deep. The answer to that question was not something Blur was prepared for at all. It was both shocking and depressing for the kit.

"Yes my son, Rockclaw is the cat I told you two about. He was your father Blur, but now he's dead." Merrygold whispered quietly to her kit. She couldn't even manage the meager strength to speak at a normal volume. "He was supposed to come back to see you and Mira. He promised he'd be back, and that it would be a great surprise for both of you. Now he's gone!" She tightened her grip on Blur. "Please don't leave me. I can't bear to lose you or your sister too."

His dad was dead. The same cat that Blur was told would come to train him in the ways of the warrior, to make him stronger, to help him become the best warrior ever born was dead. Merrygold told him that his father would be there to help and guide them, but now he'd never get to know said tom. He was going to grow up without knowing what the strong presence and embrace of a father felt like. His eyes began brimming with tears at that thought even though he couldn't fully grasp what this meant and he buried his face in his mother's long grey fur.

The two sat there sobbing over their loss, one being crushed under the pain of her love's death and the other torn over never getting to meet his father, a cat who was made out to be a great fighter who loved all no matter what. Barkpelt padded up to them to enter the embrace as well, and was welcomed gratefully by the two grieving family members. Later that day, when they broke the news to Mira, she had a similar reaction. Barkpelt told them he'd died while saving an apprentice from a fox, the very same one they'd been tasked with hunting a week ago. It was smarter than they realized and they paid the price for not anticipating it. So in light of recent events, Barkpelt had decided to fill in for Rockclaw and help support the family. They were grateful for his generosity, and soon came to see him as an uncle.

But this was not the first tragedy that would befall the now scarred family. There would be many more horrors they would suffer through.

Many more losses had yet to come.

**\- Present Day (Blur's POV) -**

"So that's why your father wasn't around. I found it curious as to why he wouldn't be there to help care for his family." Dancer thought out loud, staring at the bed he lay in. "I feel sorry for you. No kit should have to grow up without a father, the same goes for those who lack a mother. They deserve the loving care of both parents."

I nodded sadly. To think that I grew up without the constant strength and support of my father. I do sometimes wish I could have met him, but he was dead, the chance of that happening is nonexistent until I die. Even then, after all of the egregious sins I have committed, I will not be going to Starclan. I can only hope that I will be given the chance to meet him, before falling into the never ending torture of the Dark Forest and its unholy denizens. When that day comes, I will forever be fighting. I would seek out the most horrible of souls stuck there with me and wipe them from existence permanently, if that was even possible, as a way of trying to atone for my own sins.

I shook my head and refocused on the cat laying down next to me. I was getting side tracked. I was here to talk about my past, not the future. He watched me, probably questioning what I was doing. He probably didn't know I often lose myself to daydreams. My mind liked to wander a lot, and that occasionally led to some semi embarrassing situations. I shook my head again and noticed he was starting to speak.

"So your father died in a fight with a fox, but what about your mother? What happened to her?" Dancer asked. That was the next death in my family. That one really hurt to remember, but I did make a promise. I was going to tell him everything today. He deserves to know exactly what happened to me.

And so began my tale.

The tale of how I became the way I am today.

The tale of my fall into insanity, and my attempts at climbing back out.

**A/N:**

**Hello Readers!**

**I hope you enjoyed the first actual chapter of SSLS. I want to clarify/apologize for a few things. First I want to make sure that you know that kissing in this fanfiction is licking (most of the time), but with romantic intent or as a show of familial love. I would also like to apologize for the quality of the scene where Blur is asking if it was his dad that died. I may come back to work on it and the rest of the chapter(s) after the whole story has be written and uploaded. Also I know some of you may be questioning the horror genre tag, and that was placed due to the high amount of gore and disturbing content later on. It might not seem quite like it, but this story will have some really effed up content. This is a warning to you readers who don't enjoy this type of thing before you get too far into this story.**

**This chapter has been updated due to a mistake with the timeline. It was supposed to be fifty moons since the battle with the DF, thirty since all of Firestar's children died, and ten since Ebonstar rose as the leader of Shadowclan. I also decided to throw in a few tiny tweaks before adding in chapter 3.**


	3. CH2: Bye Bye Mother Dearest

**A/N**

**I would like to apologize for the quality of chapter 1 and the current chapter. I need to develop my flow for this story, just give it some time. So please, at least be patient for the next couple of chapters. I should be all set by then. I would also like to mention that I got my info for the herbs from someone on DeviantArt. Their link should be on my profile, but if not then I shall add it. I would also like to explain why I switch between words like human and twoleg a lot. The reason for that is character preference. Blur and most of the others will switch around the terms because both are used just as often by those that live around humans and their creations for long periods of time. The old clan terminology is still in use because not everyone has or will spend time around humans thus leaving no opportunity for them to learn the new words. I just wanted to clear that up because I already had several of my colleagues ask me about it. Sorry for the extra-long note. I would also like to apologize for the change in quality and style near the end. I just felt something click, if you know what I mean. Now please enjoy the story, and PM me any questions you might have.**

"So your father was the first one to pass. Who was the next one?" Dancer asked with a leisurely flick of his tail. Any other cat would have been offended at how he seemed not to care in the slightest what they had suffered through, but I didn't mind. I wasn't here for closure or anything like that. I was just here to keep my end of our little deal. I knew how Dancer was, and to treat another's life's story like it was just another sob story or boring drama was a common thing for him. He didn't mean it in an offensive way, it's just he'd been through so much and had heard many similar stories that he just became desensitized.

"My mother," I replied softly. "She was protecting us when it happened. I was out for a walk with my sister and her boyfriend when we decided we should pay a visit to the forest. Neither of us could have predicted the appearance of a hangry adult fox anywhere near the area. I wish I could have done something more to hopefully prevent anyone from falling to the damned thing, but at the time I was nothing but an unwelcome distraction. I guess you can say it was my fault she was killed. Uncle Barkpelt tried to tell me otherwise, but I knew better. I may not have been the one to do the deed but it was through my foolish actions that she was killed, so it might as well have been my own claws and teeth that shredded that soft and tender throat of hers. It happened six moons ago."

**\- Six Moons Ago: Blur's House, Training Field -**

Four moons had passed and I had requested that Barkpelt train me in the art of combat. He was reluctant at first. I was still a kit after all, and lacked any form of training in combat, or even exercises for that matter. It took time, but I managed to convince him it was the right thing to do. If I was to help take care of my family then I needed to be strong, much stronger and far more skilled than anyone else who may try to tear us apart. I showed my determination to that proud warrior, and he in turn taught me what all clan warriors needed to know. I was taught hunting stances and tricks, combat moves, and a few uses for herbs. I excelled in herb related lessons, but my skills in hunting and fighting were mediocre at best. It seemed I was stuck being something of a medicine cat for the family.

I was standing in a small field with a tiny smile on my face as I sat with my uncle. The smooth grassy terrain was teaming with rabbits, which Barkpelt taught me how to hunt. He even used them as a training exercise for my speed, which was an area that I greatly excelled in. Speed and agility were my strongest areas, and Barkpelt picked up on it early on in our training lessons. He knew almost nothing about speed and agility based combat skills, so I was stuck learning power based skills that were incompatible with my size and natural talent. He taught me the correct way to charge an opponent by angling myself to better focus my weight on weak spots in an opponent's stance. I had a hard time developing the correct form and finding the desired angle took me far too long, but I managed to at least reach the beginner's level. Despite this I was still incapable of even making him so much as twitch during my tests. I knew a cat my age would be able to at least make a warrior flinch a tiny bit from a full on power based charge.

"You just need some more practice, and maybe a little more sleep would help too." He told me. Every day it was like this. I'd be told to repeat and experiment with what I was taught to create my own style. I did that, and still found myself making little progress. I know I'm young, but come on! I should at least be a couple steps below average! I was horrified to find that I was doing worse than any apprentice up until now which, despite my ability to grasp the concepts very easily, meant I was pathetically weak even after all that training. I sighed and told myself that my skills must not fall under combat. I tried my paw at hunting, and found I did much better with that.

Which means I was still horribly below average despite my age.

Barkpelt showed me the correct stances and how to move using them. It was hard at first, but I was getting better at it. I could now catch at least a single mouse! If it just so happened that the thing was tired, injured or sick. I just couldn't get stealth down! My movements were way too loud, and despite my speed and agility I was still incapable of correctly striking the prey. So in the end, all I had was my speed and movement skills. I really am pathetic aren't I? I voiced my thoughts to Barkpelt, and he told me that wasn't true. I was good, but I just seemed to be a little awkward in my movements when hunting. The style he knew for combat was also incorrectly set for my size, weight and movement type.

"You need to adapt the skills to your own unique style. In my opinion that is the point in an apprentice's training when he deserves to become a warrior. It might sound hard, but once you figure out a style that feels right you can become a great warrior. I want you to just keep on trying. You aren't even at apprentice age, so you should be able to learn the skills you need before the time you reach 12 moons. By then your mother will be needing the help, so everything should be fine in the end." Barkpelt told me that day. It was reassuring to hear those words. I'd lost all hope of ever becoming a competent warrior, but that little confidence boost helped to get my morale back up, and recaptured my interest. I still did horrible in combat and hunting, but now I was a little more steady and sure of what to do.

My medicine skills weren't amazing, but I did develop some decent skill for not being a medicine cat apprentice. I learned about some of the simple herbs and how to spot them, and I learned how to treat minor injuries and a few more severe wounds. Illnesses were less of a problem with my new level of medical knowledge, and what with my sister finding herself sick with something nearly every week it was a blessing. Barkpelt even said he'd find either an elder or more advanced medicine apprentice to train me in some of the more complex arts. It would most likely be one from Thunderclan.

"Now let's do a quick test of what you know. I have placed before you four plants. Identify them, and tell me their uses or effects. Start with the one on the left." Barkpelt commanded as he pointed to the four plant parts. On the far left, there was a pile of roots. Next to those was a pile of leaves, next was a pile of berries, and the last was a pile of seeds. There were a few rare herbs here that I was fairly certain were obtained through some form of a trade. I pointed to the roots first.

"Those are Snakeroots, an important antidote for poisons and other rather unpleasant substances." I pointed to the leaves next. "Those are Dried Oak Leaves, and they are used to help stop infections." Next up were the berries. "Those are Holly Berries. Those berries aren't deadly like Deathberries, but I can guarantee that they will ruin your day." The last pile was a hard one. I decided to test them out and swallowed one of the seeds. My eyes flew open in shock from the rush of energy and I grinned, showing off my rather impressive teeth in a feral grin. "Those are Skullcap Seeds. They give cats extra strength when they need it to continue fighting, if they are weak during medical treatment, and in some cases to increase the power of some skills."

Barkpelt nodded and smiled happily at me. I responded in like and helped him get rid of the poisonous berries. The rest of the herbs I was able to keep for later use. We walked back to the house, engaged in cheerful conversational debate over which type of prey was the tastiest. The old fool seemed to think that fish was better than mouse, and he didn't know the first thing about fishing! Another part of the conversation was asking if I'd be able to visit Thunderclan so I could see what clan life was like. He was reluctant to do so, but eventually agreed to let me visit the clan and learn from anyone that was willing to teach. After our nice little walk the abandoned human den came into view.

It was a nice place to live what with the nearly limitless supply of mice and warmth for the winter. A couple of strange human constructs made of a fluffy material sat in one of the rooms. I would later learn these were what they called beds. This was where we would sleep most of the time since the most warmth seemed to be located in or around that one room. Most of the other rooms were mostly barren, but there was also an underground part that contained many wonderful human creations. One of them was a strange box that would show humans doing many different things, and all it took to make it work was pressing a little grey circle. I spent a lot of my free time before bed down there with my sister watching the colorful images and strange sounds.

When we reached the entrance to the house we saw my sister and mother talking in hushed tones about something. I grinned and motioned to Barkpelt to stay where he was. I crouched down and snuck closer so I could listen in on their conversation. They always found a quiet place to talk about she-cat stuff. I didn't usually mind, but today I was curious and felt like listening. Once I was close enough I laid down on my belly and waited. I was not to be disappointed.

"So when did you meet him?" Merrigold asked eagerly, ears perked up and tail twitching in barely contained excitement.

"A week ago," Mira answered shyly. She was lying down with her tail over her eyes, most likely embarrassed. "He was out for a walk when we bumped into each other. We apologized at the same time and sat there awkwardly for a little bit before I asked what he was doing. He told me he was going on a walk in an attempt at clearing his head. His mother had been annoying him about going into the forest and he wanted to get out for bit. He asked if I wanted to join him and I did. We've been meeting together ever since, though I can tell it's mostly just as friends to him."

"So you have a crush on some random kit from a family of house cats you've never even heard of, who just might permanently friend zone you?" I asked, as I entered to room. They both jumped in shock and whirled around to stare at me with horrified expressions. They were probably trying to hide this from me. I will admit I have been a little protective of my sister lately, and they probably assumed I'd be mean to this cat and scare him off, but I would never do something like that to my sister. I looked at the two guilty she cats with an amused twinkle in my eyes. Mira and mother looked around nervously and I couldn't help but to chuckle at their expressions. I focused on Mira and said, "Good for you. What's this cat's name?"

Mira blushed and said in a soft little whiper, "His name is Raoul. He's a house cat who moved here from a large place called a city. Supposedly a lot of humans live there, and the dens are massive! He mentioned how some seemed to reach all the way to the clouds! He told me I could visit whenever I wanted, and he'd show me a human thing called a photo that I could use to see what the city looked like. He even said to bring you guys if you wanted to come." She turned to our mother. "I think he really wants to meet you for some reason, mother."

This was strange. Why would he want to meet our mother? Could he or his family have met her at some point? Thinking about it, that idea seemed likely. That had to be it, and if that really was the case, then he must have some ties to our father as well! We might be able to learn something from him about what happened to our father, since there was no possible way for him to have died fighting a single fox, and possibly learn something cool about that fabled city clan called Blood Clan that was said to have originated somewhere around that area! This is a great opportunity despite the possibility that he just wanted to meet his friend's family, and Barkpelt seemed to pick up on that as well. We shared a quick glance and nodded. We needed to meet this cat, if only to see what we could learn from them about the city.

I smiled at my family and said, "We should go! He seems like a nice cat if what you say is true, and I am curious what a city is like. This would be a great opportunity! I wonder if he knows anything about city clans. If so, then we could hear some cool stories!"

Mira seemed to agree with me on this. Having the family pay him a visit didn't seem like a bad idea, and the trip there might be fun depending on how far away he lives. Barkpelt excused himself saying that he needed to go back to the clan to help with hunting and maybe do an afternoon patrol. We waved goodbye and went back to talking about the visit.

**\- Present: Dancer's home -**

"Let me guess, she was killed on the way there wasn't she? It must have been a well thought-out trap and you all fell for it."

"Nope," I replied with a shake of my head, "Not even close. It was near the end of our visit when mom died. She allowed us to go out to play and explore while she talked with Raoul's parents. They apparently knew each other, which none of us were really expecting. Raoul was leading our group from the house and into the nearby town. I was the one to suggest going into the forest near the end of the tour. I promised them we wouldn't go far, but I guess Starclan had a different path in mind and we wandered too far in."

"I doubt it was Starclan's doing Blur." Dancer said. "It seems more like something the Dark Forest cats would have tried to do."

"I guess I would have to agree with you on that one, old friend." I sighed and rolled over onto my other side. I couldn't help but to wonder if that mysterious black furred tom was involved with that. It seemed likely. I turned back to my old friend and continued speaking. "I'd matured faster than most other kits would have at that point in life, and I should have been able to make the group return to the house before anything bad could have happened. I guess even with my training I was still a curious kit at heart."

"So what happened next?" Dancer asked.

"We paid the family a visit of course."

**\- Six Moons Ago: Raoul's House, Backyard -**

We'd arrived to see a rather tall brown kit with green eyes waiting with his parents, who I could only assume were Raoul and his family, waiting by a large wooden fence. The two cats looked almost perfectly alike. The one on the left was a tall brown tom cat with darker brown markings on his back. His dark green eyes were locked on a couple of clouds. The other cat was a taller brown she cat with no markings. She had dark green eyes like the other cat. Her eyes were searching the path alongside her son. They all turned to face us when Raoul pointed in our direction and whispered something to his parents.

"Hey there, you must be Mira." The tall tom said as we drew closer. Mira smiled and nodded, feeling a little too shy to respond at the moment. "It's a pleasure to meet you. My name's Token, and this is my mate Tina. Are those three your family? Raoul has told us a lot about you."

"And Mira wouldn't shut up about you three either," I replied with a joking tone and a small chuckle right before Mira could speak. This drew out a few chuckles from Barkpelt, Token and Tina. Raoul seemed to be rather embarrassed and so did Mira. Mother just shook her head and sighed as we were led through a hole in the fence. "Now that I got a good look at you, I'm noticing quite a few similarities. I didn't know two cats could look so alike and not be related!"

Tina smiled and told me that they were twins, with herself as the oldest by nearly a day. I paused and took the time to process that little tidbit of information. They were twins and they had a kit, which meant the two of them mated. That was strange, but a little _arousing_ now that I thought about it. I shook my head and mentally smacked myself as hard as I could. I really should spend less time around Barkpelt. He's starting to corrupt me. A kit should not be thinking these kinds of thoughts for Starclan's sake!

"So Merrygold, how've you been?" Tina asked my mother. "It's been moons since we last talked and I can't wait to catch up! I heard you finally managed to snag yourself a handsome and rather large mate. Where is he? I want to meet the cat that was able to tame such a wild and temperamental she-cat."

Mother froze and looked at the floor, moisture building in her eyes as Barkpelt wrapped his tail around her in a comforting manner. It's been four moons, but the sadness was still as strong as it was the moment we got the news. I knew it would be a while before she would be able to put it all behind her and move on. Tina noticed the change in mood and became sad as well. She couldn't have known about father if what I was seeing was anything to go by, so neither could her mate. I guess that means asking Raoul was out of the question as well. That didn't mean I couldn't ask about city clans. I decided it would be a good idea to give them some time alone, so I asked if I could go out and explore with Mira and Raoul.

"So long as you three stay out of the forest, it is alright with me. How about you Merrygold?" Tina asked. Mother nodded and pushed us towards the door, telling us to behave ourselves and not to go near the forest area. We shot out of the hole in the fence and began to explore the town, my sister and I marveling at the amazing and foreign sights. Raoul took the lead, what with his intimate knowledge of the area being much greater than our own. He showed us all sorts of human constructs, like this thing called a "radio tower" that seemed to reach the sky and a building called the "Mechanic's" or something like that.

The place was large, but not as large as most of the others. There were strange metal contraptions all over the walls and floors, their function a mystery to us. I even saw one of those monsters called a "car" get lifted into the air by a moving platform. Two humans moved under it and began doing something to it. Raoul explained how humans would take their cars here to fix them so they could keep on using them. Loud whirring and clicking noises assaulted my ears and I immediately started walking away. Mira and Raoul followed at a brisk pace as well. The noise made it feel like my ears we're going to burst.

Another interesting place to visit was this place called a "Restaurant." Apparently humans knew how to make food taste way better, and traded for it with something called "money." All these words were confusing me, but I got all the important details at least. There was good food to be had here, and I was hungry. Raoul led us through an opening in the wall and directed us over to a rather large human, though he was far from fat. This human was almost like a living tree made out of pure muscle! It was obvious this human was a male, for I have never seen a female that large and muscular.

The human had blonde fur that was long enough to nearly cover his bright blue eyes, his body covered in white material like the other humans in the room. He turned to us with a smile, saying something in that strange human language before setting a white disc in front of us that was loaded with strange foods. There was a lot of meat present at least. He bent down and patted each of us lightly on the head, somehow avoiding crushing us with his impossibly large hands. We dug into the food once he left, and at that moment I knew what true bliss was. This food was impossibly delicious! If I kept going here I would definitely become fat. We purred our thanks to the human and left through the opening once more.

We explored the area some more when a thought popped into my head. We hadn't checked out the forest yet. It would be much more calming than walking around the loud humans.

"Hey Raoul," I called from up ahead. "We should check out the forest! You didn't take us there yet and it would be nice to go hunting together."

Raoul pawed the ground in embarrassment as he replied with a simple, "I don't know how to hunt." Then he perked up and continued by saying, "it's too dangerous anyways. There's foxes, badgers and other nasty things in there. Need I also remind you that your mom told us to stay away from the forest?"

"Don't worry friend. We won't go too far in! I just want to hunt something. We could stay within sight of the house if it makes you feel better." I replied, trying my best to get him to come with us. I wanted to take the chance to get to know him better, see what my sister found so intriguing about him. Going into the forest would help him to unwind once he allowed to atmosphere to sink in, and I also wanted to show him part of what it means to live in the wild. I thought of it as a way of introducing him to our way of life, since he was generous enough to accommodate us on his tour. I also thought that if they did start truly seeing each other, it would be nice for him to feel at home for future visits. Raoul and Mira exchanged nervous glances before nodding. Mira knew I'd just go in without them if I wanted to, and Raoul was probably just doing it so he didn't feel left out or something.

A few moments of walking had us standing in front of the rather intimidating forest. The trees were huge and I was able to see the occasional shadowy figure dashing about amongst the undergrowth, their forms weaving in and out in various directions. Strange sounds also added to the intimidation factor of that mysterious place, sending a sharp jolt of unease and apprehension down our spines. I never delved deep into the shadowed wonder near my home either, so this was quite the experience I knew I would savor for days to come. The oppressive presence of the impossibly tall trees and mysterious shadows, that seemed to bath the area in an intimidating symphony of crushing leaves and rustling branches, awakened in me a wonderful feeling of strength and belonging.

I loved this new feeling with all my being.

I felt so at home. This was my element. The mystery, the oppression, it felt so amazing! Just a simple look made me realize just how small and insignificant I truly was. I also realized how much that just seemed to add to the adventure. It gave our little visit to the woodland of wonder, the sense of a beginning to a truly epic tale told by elder cats of ancient adventures, of heroes and explorers facing impossible odds and coming out victorious. I turned to my companions with a grin, and noted their nervous and partially scared expressions. I nudged in between them and nuzzled them playfully in an attempt to raise their spirits, for this moment was one to be experienced with a heart of joy rather than fear. We were taking a major step in learning just how a cat is meant to live its life, beyond the bounds laid down by humans and free of the humdrum of house life.

"C'mon you two! This is the beginning of a grand adventure, I just know it!" I cheered as I dashed into the bushes, savoring the sound of the rustling leaves and the feel of them brushing through my bright white pelt. Those words came together to form the biggest understatement of my entire wretched life. I heard the others running right behind me, just barely keeping up with my amazing speed. I pulled a tight left turn and shot up a fallen log, sitting down in the middle with closed eye as I listened to the wind rustle the leaves above. Mira and Raoul clambered up the side of the tree and moved to sit beside me, each wishing to partake in the soothing sound of the forest's whispers. We sat there, enjoying the sights and sounds of the forest, taking in the peace it had to offer with open minds and eager hearts.

"You know what, Blur? I think this was a good idea." Mira said with a sigh as she moved closer to me. "I guess you CAN have the occasional good idea. Who would have thought it?"

"I agree with your sister," Raoul stated as he moved closer to Mira, bringing us all together in a comforting companionship. "This was a good idea. I'm really glad I came."

"Now all that would make this better would be to hunt down something for a light snack. Even though we just ate I'm sure we can find room for some freshly caught meat. What do you guys say to a nice fresh squirrel or maybe a couple plump mice?" I asked. I stood up and jumped off the log, landing with a soft thump on the hard and dry ground. "You will love fresh kill, Raoul. It tastes way better than those dry pellets humans tend to feed us."

"I don't think it would be that hard for something to taste better than those disgusting things. I'm getting sick just thinking about them." Raoul grumbled irritably. I chuckled along with Mira as we padded deeper into the forest, eager to catch a true meal worthy of a cat. I scented the air and found a squirrel to our left, behind the bushes. I told my companions to be quiet and entered a hunter's crouch. I was still very bad at hunting, but with a group I knew we'd be able to catch at least one stupid little squirrel. Mira and Raoul tried their best to mimic my stance and followed on either side of me, with Mira proving to be a natural at this sort of thing. It was a rather strong blow to my maleness to have my own sister out do me in an event of such demanding endurance and skill. We moved forward and poked our heads through the leaves of the bush, catching sight of a couple of rather scrawny squirrels nibbling on some acorns. They were completely oblivious to the three predators staring at them hungrily.

"Raoul gets the one on the right while Mira gets the one on the left. I will hang back and wait in case one tries to run. Now go," I whispered as I moved into a better position. Mira snuck off through the bushes with her body low to the ground and her tail perfectly still behind her. Raoul took off to the right, mimicking Mira's stance with near perfection and further damaging my already battered ego. I smiled at the sight of a predator awakening his natural instincts, the rush of the hunt drawing a smile to his lips as he trudged through the undergrowth silently and quite skillfully. It felt good to help him out like this, even though I wasn't really doing anything to actively aid in his advancement. I turned back to the two tasty little nut throwers, when an unwelcome scent permeated the air. It took a second for me to realize what it was, but it was too late by then. A rustling from across the clearing drew my attention, and I could barely contain my fear at the sight before me.

A tall, healthy male fox had shot into the clearing, nabbing one of the squirrels and breaking it's neck and spine with a loud _snap!_ Blood dripped from its jaws as it started to devour its freshly caught meal. The splattering of blood on the orange canine made me shiver in fear, imagining the blood was that of a cat. A faint rustling on each side of me told me as well as the fox my partners had return to my side, each bearing an aura of fear and confusion near equal to mine. They laid down next to me and stared out at the fox with expressions of fear and loathing as it scanned the clearing. If we moved so much as a twitch in any direction we could alert the fox to our current position, therefore supplying him with a large feast of cat flesh. If we stayed there, then the fox would find our scent eventually and the previously described event would occur just as described. There was only one thing that we could do in this bleak moment. I turned to Mira and Raoul, my fear slowly being replaced with a solid and immovable resolve to get them to safety despite the possible outcomes to myself.

"Listen," I whispered to them urgently. "That fox will find us soon. There is no avoiding it, but we may still have a chance of getting away safely. Here's what we'll do. The fox is almost done with its meal, and most likely will still be very hungry. One of us will need to go out and act as a decoy to draw its attention, while the others head back to the house to alert our parents to the danger. The decoy will then direct the fox back to this clearing, where the parents can ambush it from the shadows."

"That's a great plan Blur," Mira replied with a grin. That grin quickly turned to a frown as she asked me, "But who is going to distract the fox? You do realize none of us can handle a fox on our own right?"

"That is where you are wrong Mira." I chuckled and stood up. "The decoy just needs to be quick, and being quick is my specialty. Don't worry too much about me, I can handle this little canine without much difficulty."

Before either of them could say a word in argument to my orders I shot out from our cover and right at the unsuspecting fox. It yelped in shock as I rammed into it, not doing any damage at all. It _was_ pretty funny though to hear it release such an embarrassing sound. I dashed around the fox, barely escaping its wild swings as I tried to come up with a plan for how I would survive this encounter. It wasn't every day that someone my age had to deal with an adult canine with hunger pangs trying to turn you into its next meal. I saw Mira and Raoul out of the corner of my eye and hissed in frustration.

"Go, for the love of Star Clan you must go already!" My shout seemed to work as they disappeared into the bushes, leaving me alone with the angry fox. This day was just getting better and better. I hope the sarcasm was obvious there. Trying to dodge each strike and charge was tiring work and left me with little room to escape. My training hadn't worked on developing a strong physical endurance, so using all these fighting maneuvers was going to tire me out in no time. I rolled out of the way and saw a thin log tunnel a few short lengths to the left of my position.

That was exactly what I was hoping for.

I ran over to it, dodging lethal strikes all the while as my legs moved at amazing speeds to place me ahead of my pursuer. There was no way I would let that thing catch me easily that was for sure. I dove into the opening and scrambled further into the tunnel when a large set of claws tore into my left hind leg. I yowled in pain as the claws dug into my flesh before being roughly ripped away from me. After retreating further into my shelter, I noticed that the tunnel wasn't as big as I thought it would be. I was a short distance away from the other opening and knew the fox would catch me unawares at some point. The sound of crisp leaves being crushed around me told me the fox was coming around from the other side. I scooted back, and cringed when the sharp fangs of the fox grazed the very tip of my nose.

I heard even more rustling. This time it was louder, and I could tell there were more feet this time around. That meant Mira and Raoul had reached our parents and that they were nearly here. I let loose another loud scream when I felt the teeth latch onto my right hind leg this time around. It hurt so much when the fangs entered my flesh, reaching all the way to the bone. The hot and most likely infected breath of the fox did not help my mood at all as I was pulled out of my only safe haven. A quick jerk of the fox's head sent me flying through the air and into a tree.

I lay there, dazed and in more pain than ever before as I tried my best to make my body move. The sounds of combat filled the air and I knew the adults must be trying to fight off the fox. A much smaller set of teeth dug into my scruff and dragged me away from the battle. I wiggled around and looked up at my savior, only to flinch at the burning anger present in my uncle's eyes. He put me down rather roughly and hissed, conveying to me just how angry he was at the moment. I wanted so badly to look away from him, to spare myself the pain I would feel knowing I'd put myself and others in harm's way for a simple glimpse of the forest, but my guilt and fear prevented me from doing so. He cuffed me rather harshly across the face and started yelling at me in a booming and furious voice.

"You mouse brained fool! What did your mother tell you about the forest, huh? You were told specifically to STAY AWAY from it! What were you thinking running in here, dragging your sister and her crush into all this? You'll be lucky if we all leave with just a couple of scratches!" He continued to berate me, to tell me how stupid I was and that I would be punished severely when we got home. I nodded, willing to accept any punishment they would come up for me no matter what it may be. A loud yowl of pain made us jump and turn worriedly to the battle. What I saw at that moment would haunt my dreams for many nights to come.

Mother's limp form hung from the fox's jaws, torn and bleeding from multiple deep cuts and bite marks. We thought she was either unconscious from the beating or playing dead in hopes of escaping. We were wrong. I screamed in a combination of horror, sadness and fury when I saw the gaping tear in my mother's neck. Her blood quickly poured out over the torn flesh and into her beautiful, soft fur. I saw the inside of her throat all the way to the bone, the fleshy tubes of her throat and veins forming a ghastly image of hunger-driven brutality. The blood pouring from her throat sprayed out over the clearing as the fox started to thrash her body around like it was some sort of chew toy a house dog would play with. I flinched as my mother's blood splashed onto my face from so far away, staining my face with liquid guilt and sorrow.

This couldn't be happening...

This is not happening!

Dear Star Clan this is actually happening!

"Mother," I screamed as I charged the fox. I was knocked away like a leaf in a gale, effortless and violent with often harmful results to the object in the air. I smacked into another tree, a loud and sickening crack echoing from my left foreleg. It was broken, that much I could tell going by the feeling alone. I screamed in agony and curled into a tight ball on the ground, trying my best to hide myself from the pain even though I knew I couldn't. Such foolishness, to think I would be able to take on a fox at my age and skill level. Now I was sure to die, just like my mother had moments before. I would soon leave this world and my sister behind permanently, no doubt to be eternally punished for my sins today. With the pain growing more intense as every bit of fury and determination bled from me I was left completely immobile, a perfect target for that accursed fox.

I felt moisture building up in my eyes once more. I just couldn't hold it in. My actions have led to the death of my mother, and possibly the imminent death of the others who came to save me. It was at that moment that the whole horrifying reality crashed down on me. I really went and did it. I killed my own mother. The one who gave me life, who loved me and cared for me was dead because of me.

I killed her!

I killed my own mother!

Those words kept repeating in my head like a morbid anthem of guilt. I killed her. I really killed her. Mother, I am so sorry for what I've done to you. I am a horrible son!

...

Silence...

I couldn't hear any struggle, nor any cries of pain or wails of grief.

Just silence.

I turned slowly around, and smiled at the sight of the fresh corpse of that worthless fox. It wouldn't bother us anymore. Barkpelt stood over the corpse, the blazing fires of hatred filled his eyes as he stared down at the dead canine. He stared at the corpse for a bit before turning to look at me. He didn't look angry and he held no hatred what so ever in his eyes. All that I could see, was the cold edge of disappointment. I'd rather he be angry at me than disappointed. I never wanted to disappoint him, or anyone so close to me. I always strived to do the right thing and to make them proud of me, and yet here I am with the death of my mother hanging over my head thanks to my stubbornness and sudden bout of idiocy. I turned a little bit to get a glimpse of mother's corpse.

I mustered the last of my strength to stand up and walk. My wobbling gait directed me to my mother's dead body, where I collapsed in a sobbing heap onto her still warm corpse. I buried my face as far as I could into that soft and welcoming fur, the thick coating of crimson fluid did not faze me one bit as I proceeded to bury my face in her bleeding neck. I sobbed into the blood, screaming at the top of my lungs, pouring out every ounce of my sadness. I screamed and wailed all of my anger and depression from my body with vicious force until, finally, all I had left inside was emptiness. I could still feel my tears coursing through my fur, and my mother's blood seeping into my own fur, but my emotions were blank. I just felt tired all of a sudden.

I closed my eyes and laid my head down, actually welcoming the warmth of the now partially dried blood coating my small form and the motionless body beneath me. I will sleep next to mother so that I can revel in her warmth and leftover feelings of love and adoration. Even in death she still seemed to hold a deep feeling of love for me, despite my horrible sin committed against her. It felt nice in a way, like I would always have this feeling of love locked inside of me. The blood was like an embrace, almost as if she was hugging me closer in reassurance that everything was OK. It lulled me into a sense of peace, and I welcomed the wonderful void of sleep that soon followed.


	4. CH3: My Greatest Sin and Deepest Regret

**A/N**

**Yet another chapter everyone! This will be the last chapter that transitions between the present and past more than once. The next one will be of Blur's first encounter with Shadowclan and will be posted sometime over the weekend, probably alongside this one.**

**I would also like to take the time to apologize once more for the effed up timeline stuff at the beginning of this story. I'm just trying to give a rough estimate of when this story takes place but left it in such a way where if I decide to use canon cats as elders I could. Just remember that most of the canon cats are dead for some reason or another.**

**Now please, do enjoy!**

I had tears in my eyes as I lay there. After all this time has passed, I still break down in tears over that memory. The look in her eyes, so full of pain, and that horrible high pitched scream. It echoes in my mind every night, but I know that wasn't the most horrible sound I've heard. I can remember something far worse. I knew I had to tell Dancer about it, and I dreaded that the most. I was jolted out of my thoughts when I felt Dancer's body press up against mine. He said nothing and just laid there, offering up his own form of quiet comfort. I smiled at him and nodded, ready to continue with my story.

"Believe as you may, the weight of this sin does not lie with you Blur. That fox was the one to take her life, and you were a rebellious young kit at the time. Now dry your tears and continue with your story. It will help you heal, trust me." He whispered soothingly in my ear, and I slowly leaned into him. He was warm and very soft, providing a comforting presence I really needed at the moment. I wanted to keep going with my story but a longer break to gather my thoughts was greatly appreciated. I raised a paw to wipe away the moisture around my eyes and admired the glistening orbs of salty water. The way the light shined off of them added to the calming atmosphere and I managed to stop the outflow of tears even though I was still trembling a little bit.

He was right. Dancer was right, but I would still feel the guilt of my actions for many moons to come. One cannot simply forget their role in another's death, be it as a bystander or not. I might not have killed my mother, but I was the one who attracted the fox's attention when it was possible for me to flee. Now is as good of a time as any to try and let go of the guilt, even though I knew it wouldn't be going away despite all the time that has passed. It still felt nice to try.

With my mind mostly cleared and my eyes dried, I prepared to tell him of my greatest sin. It happened three full moons later, and it was the most painful scar of guilt that marred my mind and soul.

The murder of my pregnant sister.

"Dancer," I couldn't look him in the eye anymore. What I did was horrible and never to be forgiven, even by my own twisted standards. "Have you ever done something that you didn't mean to? Something that once done, can no longer be taken back? I have committed a great sin, greater than my previous ones from our time in the facility. It took place a few moons later, about three since the fox incident if I remember correctly."

"What happened Blur? What did you do?" He was curious now, more so than when I spoke of my mother. I buried my face in my paws in a futile attempt at hiding from his gaze. He was going to hate me, I knew it for a fact. He was going to yell at me and call me a monster, just like many others had.

I still told him. He asked, so he will have his answer.

"I killed my own sister while she was pregnant. I choked the life right out of her and my unborn nephews, without an ounce of hesitation."

I risked a glance at my long time friend, the one who had been at my side for so long to the point where I considered him a father, and saw a truly horrified expression on his face. I knew it. He was going to hate me. I was going to lose my only true friend and be forced to fall back into my insanity again.

"Why would you do that? What happened?" His voice was just above a whisper, the shock and horror must have been that great. I would be horrified as well since the murder of a pregnant family member was considered taboo even among the cruelest societies the two of us encountered. Kits were the future, and family was usually the only stronghold many had to protect themselves against the harshness of city life.

Now we get to the question of why I did it. That was a very good question with an answer I was more than ashamed of. Nightmares plagued my dreams, filling them with twisted visions of my mother since the incident with the fox, and I wasn't sure what to do about them. It was a bizarre experience when I took the time to think about it. Each dream was disturbingly realistic and plucked violently at the frail supports that held me together. I was worn down so much that with a solid push I would be sent over the edge: left to plummet into the rising waters of my turbulent emotions and macabre hallucinations in which I would rapidly drown. Things snowballed from there and I soon found myself standing over my sister's dead body, her lifeless eyes gazing up at me as I frantically ran away.

"I don't know." I gave him an honest answer. I just didn't know what happened to me. "What I do know, is that I've had to deal with some fucked up thoughts and emotions for a full three moons before that happened. There was no explanation for those unwelcome thoughts, nothing that would possibly give birth to them. As far as I can tell, I woke up one morning breathing hard and freaking out from some strange nightmare." It was the truth. My thoughts were mostly ones of guilt, and how I could make up for the death of my mother as well as the endangerment of my sister and her lover. One night was all it took. A single nightmare beyond anything a kit's mind could drum up would set in motion a series of events that forever changed me, but not for the better.

"I'll start around three moons before the murder. That was when I started to reach my breaking point."

**\- (Six moons ago: Blur's house) -**

It was a pleasant fall day, or leaf-fall if you were a clan-born cat. The sun was shining brightly enough to impair one's vision, birds were chirping their annoyingly high-pitched songs, and a soft breeze blew in such a way that your fur did nothing to keep you warm. It was perfect, and I took the time to go with my sister to visit Raoul. Mira had grown much closer to Raoul after the incident a few days go but started to become distant from me during that time. It wasn't that bad at first, but within a single moon being around would start to feel uncomfortable. She talked with me as little as possible and nearly went out of her way to avoid me. She would still live with me, but only for another moon.

Oh, but that was nearly two moons from now. It would be best to stick with the current time.

I had to thank Raoul for teaching us. Sure we never learned about survival techniques like we did with uncle Barkpelt, but it was still very interesting. It was nice to know what to call the four seasons, or various facts about humans and their near-infinite number of lifestyles. That day we were learning about the structure of the human family. It was rather interesting I will admit, but I'd be lying if I said the subject didn't hurt to talk about. Mother had died not too long ago and the memory was still plenty fresh in our minds and hearts.

Mira held out rather well, which is commendable. I, on the other paw, had to excuse myself for a moment halfway into the lesson. I didn't come back. Mira found me back at the house on the roof, fast asleep with my face buried in my paws: a rather successful attempt at concealing my tears until I was woken up. Mira stormed up to my unconscious form and prodded me harshly in the ribs. I yelped loudly and shot to my feet, my still rather puffy eyes darted around until they landed on Mira's. She was glaring at me, obviously angry over how I left like I did. I just turned away and walked into the house, lacking any energy needed to argue with her.

She would nag me about my rude behavior until nightfall when I decided to try to get some sleep. It was a pleasant night. No loud noise, a comfortable temperature, and a soft bed to sleep on. I would lay on my back for a time, observing the marks in the ceiling and allowing my mind to tire itself out. A few seconds later, and I managed to fall asleep.

My eyes quickly flashed open. Something felt wrong. I couldn't place what exactly it was, but I just got this feeling something was amiss. It crawled up my spine like a large spider and I couldn't help but shiver. After making sure nothing was amiss in my room, I made my way to Mira's room. She had decided to sleep in another one after the fox incident. I gently pushed the damaged slab of wood called a door out of the way and walked inside. Nothing seemed suspicious, besides the rather lewd motions and sounds coming from my sister. I just assumed she was thinking of Raoul and moved on.

A short walk through the halls had the feeling of unease growing stronger. The feeling became so strong that I was constantly looking over my shoulder and into any room I passed. Nothing was out of place. Nothing made a sound. It would have been peaceful and able to provide a feeling of safety for anyone else. I just felt nervous. No, I felt scared. Something was wrong. Something was happening. Why couldn't I find what was wrong? Why couldn't I stop walking?

Another door, this one leading to the large entrance room, sat wide open. The room was pitch black despite the fact that the room was supposed to have those openings called windows placed evenly along two of the walls. It was unnatural. It was wrong. I should have walked away. Why did I go inside?

The darkness engulfed me, drowning out all of my senses and leaving me with nothing. Then, out of nowhere, a light flickered into existence. It was warm and inviting, so I walked over to it. It was a candle: something Raoul said was used to provide light when no power source was nearby. I always loved candles. They provided warmth and a soft orange glow that produced a cozy atmosphere.

Sitting beneath the candle was a picture of my family. There was Mother, Mira, me, and another cat I assumed was my father. After getting a good look at it, I turned around to leave. A light, one without any visible source, illuminated the door I had just entered through. It was bright enough to allow me to see something that nearly sent me into hysterics.

It was closed...

The door I just walked through was closed.

I ran over to it, trying frantically to open it the way Raoul taught me. I jumped up and bit into the handle, pulling it down and using my hind legs to try pushing it open. It wouldn't open. I was stuck here. I was stuck in this endless darkness.

A noise, something like a small wet splattering sound echoed behind me. I turned around, only to find nothing there. Deciding I hated being in the suffocating darkness, I walked over to the candle and sat down. It was nice and warm, much better than the total lack of feeling the darkness provided. Staring into a dark void can get rather boring and unsettling, so I decided to take another look at the picture. As soon as my eyes landed on the happy little picture, I let out a horrified gasp and rapidly backed away.

It was covered in blood. The image was distorted due to the liquid that seemed to originate from the picture itself. What I could make out from the distorted picture showed both my sister and me, still happily sitting side by side, but with my mother's corpse lying next to us. It was rotting, the flesh peeling away and showing bone. The body's eyes were still intact, though. Quicker than I could even blink the eyes turned to look at me. The seemingly frantic anger and fear present in the pair nearly had me dashing for the door again.

Then it screamed.

The picture screamed, a loud and terrifying scream that almost hurt to listen to. It echoed through the room like the blasting roar of thunder. It started growing louder, reaching near-deafening levels as I turned to make my escape. I couldn't take it anymore. I needed to get out of that room immediately. I was charging for the door, it's wooden form slowly opening as I drew near and my feeling of hope grew stronger.

Something hit me. Something smacked into me with enough force to make me hit the wall. I was dazed, incapable of moving with my lax muscles. I tried to look up, and saw the shadowy feet of another cat, before a furry object that I assumed was a paw collided with the side of my head.

My vision faded to pure black, before being flooded by the bright sunlight shining into my room through the window. I groaned and rolled over onto my side. My head still hurt. Why did my head hurt when it was just a dream? I looked up and saw the annoyed face of my sister staring down at me. She scoffed and backed away a little.

"You were thrashing around a lot there, Blur. It woke me up." She explained. She must have hit me then. I can't tell whether I should thank her for freeing me from my nightmare, berate her for hurting me, or just leave it alone. I chose the third option, deciding instead to shakily pull myself out of my bed. My body felt sluggish, weak as if I'd run from one city to the next and back without stopping. With great effort, I managed to stand up and jump off my bed.

"Where are you going?" Mira asked. I didn't turn around when I told her I was just going for a walk. I needed time to clear my head and listening to her nag me or send me those discreet glares wasn't going to help. I was walking through the halls towards the entrance room when I paused to remember my dream. This was the path I took before that horrifying incident. I slowly pushed the door open and walked inside.

I released a loud sigh of relief when I saw the room was completely empty. There were no candles or pictures and, more importantly, no hostile cats trying to kill me. I opened the door and stepped outside. It was a pretty morning. The sun was just coming over the horizon and the shades of yellow and orange added extra color to the plant life surrounding our house. I chose a path that went along the edge of the forest and started walking.

I didn't show up for our lesson with Raoul that day. I was too distracted by my dream to even think about our lesson. I know my dream was created by my guilt, but there were some things that I was confused about. The first thing would be that dad was in the picture. I only heard stories about him, since he was said to have been killed by a fox. It was strange how my dream had such a detailed image of him in it. The other confusing detail would be the cat that attacked me. It looked to be about the same size as me, but that was all. I saw no colors or got any scent from it.

I tried to make sense of it, I really did, but beyond reinforcing my guilt I had no idea as to the purpose if my nightmare. I paused in my walk to take a seat near a large stone. It was huge and was probably put there by humans as a form of decoration. I laid my back against it and sighed. I was beginning to wish I'd gone to the lesson, if only for something to do. My dream was obviously bugging me yet there wasn't much I could do about that. I guess I could just lay down and use this opportunity to catch up on my sleep.

It would be several hours until Mira managed to find me. She looked to be rather upset if her glare and the painful jab to my ribs were anything to go by. She then went into a long tirade about how I was being rude to Raoul and bringing them down with my recent attitude. I wanted to say something to her, anything would do, but I just couldn't bring myself to speak. After Mira's long and rather mean speech she quickly spun around and made her way back to the house. I followed after her and crawled into my bed, knowing full well what was waiting for me.

I shot awake the next morning with a loud and fearful cry. It was the same dream again. The only difference was that a trail of blood led to the place where I was killed last. I would always find myself walking to that same room even though I knew that strange cat was waiting for me. It was stupid and really annoying that I couldn't make myself avoid that same room, but I couldn't deny the effect it was having on me.

My room's door opened with a loud creak as my sister popped her head into my room. She looked tired, obviously having been woken up early thanks to my screaming. She yelled at me for waking her up again and slammed my door as hard as she could. I could only sigh and try to get out of bed. I mustn't be getting enough rest when I slept because my movements were sluggish yet again. I sighed and went about my day as usual.

**\- (Four Moons Ago) -**

These nightmares happened every night for two full moons. Mira did her best to put up with it, but I could tell she was struggling. If she just took the time to talk with me, made time to be there for me then they would most likely have stopped, but she didn't. She would always be harsh with me and distant when she had the chance to be. It hurt a lot, knowing my only living family member besides Barkpelt wouldn't even speak to me without saying something hurtful or dismissive. That coupled with my depression over mother's death caused my health to take a major hit. I started losing weight and my pelt became rough and dirty. I just couldn't bring myself to do much anymore.

Mira couldn't take it. She couldn't put up with it anymore. After a couple days of extensive visits to Raoul's house, she came to me with news that had me in tears. It was midday when she found me while I was looking for something to eat. I was just about to nab a mouse when she made herself known. The little critter shot onto the underbrush with a squeak that must have alerted the other rodents in the area.

"I can't do it anymore, Blur." She was always a blunt she-cat. After the incident, she developed quite the assertive personality. At the time, she said this I wasn't too sure what she meant. I had my fears, but I would never have expected her to say or do anything like this. She looked me flat in the eyes and said, "I'm moving in with Raoul. I can't stand living with you anymore. It's just too much for me. You wake me up way before the sun is even visible in the sky, you act very rudely to Raoul and me, and you've become filthier than a cat who bathes in its own dirt. I swear whenever I enter our house I have to wash myself for most of the day just to clean off less than half of the stuff sticking to me! I can't keep this up Blur, I'm sorry. I'm going to live with Raoul now, so please just do us a favor and stay away from now on."

She did it. She really went and did it. My own sister had just abandoned me when I needed her most. I was too shocked to speak at the time, and even if I could have there was no way I was going to be able to convince her to stay though it wasn't like I would have had time to anyway. Mira never even waited for a response. She just turned around, shook her head, and shot off down the path to Raoul's house. It was quick, impersonal, and hurt even more than any possible alternative.

I couldn't believe it. One second I'm out looking for food, the next my sister basically tells me she's abandoning me. It was impossible, and to some sick individuals, rather comedic. A loved one just pops up out of nowhere and tells the other that they are being abandoned. Couldn't she see my suffering, my pain? I asked myself this more than a hundred times as I made my way back home, my meal forgotten in the rising depression and emptiness threatening to consume me.

I guess you could say I saw this coming. I knew she would snap soon. No cat could sit back and live their life watching someone slowly begin to break apart from their guilt, let alone the one who killed your mother. That still doesn't excuse what my dear sister Mira had done. Her sudden and impersonal dismissal of my presence, of my very life, cut far too deeply to be healed. She never even stayed long enough for me to say anything, not that I could at the time, but still! This was the final straw as humans like to put it. That night I sobbed and screamed my sadness to the stars above, my voice failing me near the middle of the night. I felt as if all my tears had rushed from my eyes that night. I was truly alone now.

Upon falling asleep that night, I realized that my previous nightmares might as well have been a beautiful trip to Starclan. It started off peaceful as usual, the uneasy feeling was gone and I thought I could finally find true rest. I was immediately proven wrong. It started off as nothing more than a giant whisper, like a tree sized human trying to tell you a secret, but grew to into a deafening assault of hateful voices: spewing insults and death threats like it was their only purpose. Their despicable chorus pierced my ears no matter how far I ran away, or how well I hid. I was running for so long and I couldn't seem to escape the voices. My hope was dwindling at that point and I fell to the ground in a sobbing wreck, begging for the voices to fall silent.

As if Starclan had answered my prayers the voices started to fade away. My head throbbed a bit from the loud noises, but that was slowly fading as well. I relaxed from my balled up position to a more relaxed one and gave a relieved sigh until I noticed a sensation on my left shoulder. It was soft and moved in calming circles that I assumed were trying to relieve me of some tension. The soft object felt sort of a like a paw, and I was curious who it could belong to. I was about to turn around to see who it was when I felt someone's whiskers and then their lips brush against my ear. Their breaths sent shivers down my spine as the wind hit the sensitive insides of my ears.

"Do not worry my dear, mommy is here for you. The voices are gone now, so relax." A soft voice poured from the lips and gave me a wonderful peace of mind. That voice belonged to mother. Mother was here to save me, to take all the pain away. I sighed happily this time and nuzzled into the soft and fluffy fur I missed so much. She made me feel safe as if nothing could hurt me. Mother would never let anything happen to me. I rolled over onto my back and smiled up at Mother.

Wait a minute...

Something was wrong...

Why did mother have maggots burrowing into her flesh?

My eyes flew wide open and I frantically crawled away from the mutated form of my mother. She looked almost like she did the day of the incident, except more of her insides were exposed thanks to the multitude of maggots wriggling around inside of her as well as outside. The small white bugs crawled and burrowed all over her, exploring every last visceral passage she had to offer. I screamed in horror and tried to distance myself even more from the hideous monstrosity that was slowly ambling towards me.

"What's wrong," She asked me with a sinister grin slowly forming on her soft lips. She paused and entered a thinking pose. Her paws were placed leisurely at shoulder length and her head tilted a tiny bit to the right, just like she always did when I was younger. "Is it something I ate, or is it something that ate me? Oh, Starclan was that fox was hungry, and these little guys have quite the appetite as well. I guess you only have yourself to blame for this, my son."

I shook my head furiously in denial as my voice had failed me at the moment, my eyes never leaving hers as she continued to speak. "I loved you with all my heart Blur, I really did. I would have sacrificed anything to keep you happy, and how do you repay me? You run off and nearly get your sister and her friend killed, but that isn't even the worst part. You killed me. You thought that you could help deal with the fox when you knew that you all could have just snuck away without attracting any attention. You purposely chose to deal with the fox and in doing so have taken my life! You sicken me Blur. I did not raise you to be a murderer."

"I'm sorry mother. I'm truly sorry for what I've done! I never wanted you to die. I never wanted to endanger Mira and Raoul. I never wanted any of that!" I screamed and broke down sobbing yet again. I never wanted this to happen, but it did. I risked a glance up at mother only to find her rotting, maggot infested face almost touching mine. She grinned, flashing her unnaturally large teeth. It could have been the newly emaciated look she had, but her teeth were huge compared to the rest of her mouth. I felt like I was staring into the mouth of that fox, except it was now covered in my mother's pelt.

"You're sorry? Well... It's a little too late for that my dear. You must pay for your sins." Her voice, once gentle and soothing, was now hollow and carrying a piercing coldness to it. She pounced on me and tore into me with an unholy glee. Her claws were shredding my chest, belly, and legs with each vicious blow. She even got a few strikes in on my head that sent me reeling. I screamed in fear and pain as she ripped me apart, laughing insanely as the maggots fell into my wounds and burrowed into me as well. I could feel the maggots' wriggling forms biting and thrashing about inside me as they dug down to my bones, and even managed to burrow into those!

It hurt. I hurt. Everything in my body was in unbearable agony and I felt my strength fading away, before finally allowing my vision to flash to black.

I would awaken the next day with a loud scream of horror and agony. After looking around frantically for any signs of the horrible monstrosity that had become my mother, I got up and went about my day like usual. I was so out of it that day, much more so that any other. I kept looking over my shoulder and scenting the air for anything that could be a sign that the monster was nearby. She was watching me, I just knew she was. I would imagine the living corpse of my mother hunting me down to deliver a justice I did not want nor feel I needed, those sharp claws and teeth splitting my flesh and making way for the wriggling maggots. The hateful and hungry glare of those decomposing eyeballs was locked onto me, I just knew they were. It was obvious she was watching and waiting for me to let my guard down so she could attack, but I wouldn't give her the chance.

A few days later I would find myself hollow, broken, empty on the inside. The ever changing and horrifying dreams started to take their toll on me and I just felt myself start to shut down. The following days would be filled with methodical and stiff movements with little to no expression. My emotions became buried and allowed to grow inside of me, making them volatile. If something were to set me off at that moment, it would be almost guaranteed that I would kill or break it. I would unleash everything I had to kill the pain and erase whatever was unfortunate enough to set me off.

Mira, my poor sister, would be said thing...

**\- (Three Moons Ago) -**

She came to me a little over one moon later upon the insistence of her new mate Raoul. They had mated not too long ago and she was showing some of the signs of pregnancy, subtle as they thought they were. It was perfectly obvious by her enlarged belly that she was getting close to that special moment when new life would come into the world and fill tiny lungs with fresh air, but I never noticed. It made it all the more tragic that things would turn out the way they did.

I was returning from a quick hunt when I noticed a form sitting under the shade of my house's entrance. It was the familiar silhouette of a gray she-cat. At the time I was confused, not having expected any guests that day, so I approached the newcomer with slight caution. The caution melted away and was replaced by a solid blank when I noticed the familiar scent of the other cat. She turned to look at me and smiled a sad little smile, almost regretful and sorry if I hadn't known better. She still hated me, I could tell.

"Um, hello again Blur," She whispered nervously, not looking at me once as she greeted me. Her eyes would wander just to my left or right as if they were incapable of focusing in on me. _She wasn't sorry._ "It's been awhile since I so much as saw you. How have you been?"

She was back. My sister was back. After leaving me three moons ago, she was back. _She hates me._ I tentatively walked up to her with wide eyes, not being able to trust what I was obviously able to see. The last family member that ridiculed and degraded me, who would later abandon me in my time of need, had come to see me. _She despises me._ I couldn't understand what I was feeling at the moment. I guess you could say there was some happiness buried there somewhere, but that was overshadowed by the terrible rage that was rapidly growing. _She was always going to hate me, and nothing would change that. I am nothing to her._

"What do you want Mira? Have you come to yell at me again? Did I do something to anger you even after you ran away from me, abandoned me?" I hissed at her. She flinched and turned further away, her weak smile rapidly being replaced by a deep, quivering frown. _That's right you worthless sack of dirt, that's called guilt._

"I-I just came because I thought it was right. I cut off from you so suddenly and I was-" She began, but yelped when I hissed loudly and yelled at her with such anger and hatred that she seemed ready to break down sobbing like I had done multiple times before. _She's faking it._ I also noticed a bit of fear, though at the time I wasn't quite sure why. _She hates me and thinks of me as a murderer. I'm not a murderer, I'm not!_

"Shut up! Mira, I needed you there with me. I was hurting so much at the time, but you just left with a quick and impersonal excuse about losing sleep and my attitude! How could you do that to your own brother?" As I asked this question I couldn't help but to pause and think. It was quite the sudden decision, and it was very impersonal. It was obvious to me now that she just didn't care. _She hates me. She doesn't care about me anymore._ Maybe at one point she may have actually cared, but not anymore. "It's obvious you didn't and still don't care about me, so why are you really here? Did Raoul persuade you to come here, in hopes that I would forgive you, and we would make up in some tearful heart to heart? There is no way that's going to happen!"

Mira tried to speak, but I was tired of hearing her voice. All it ever did anymore was spout lies and insults. All she ever did anymore was hurt me. I would not hear that voice anymore. I would never be yelled at or belittled ever again! I pounced on her and pushed down hard on her neck. She gasped and thrashed about, trying to knock me off. Too bad for her, her pregnancy sapped most of her energy to feed and develop her kits. I used my other paw to smack her harshly upside the head with unsheathed claws, leaving behind several bleeding cuts over her left eye.

"Shut up, just shut up already! I'm tired of listening to your hate filled voice. All you ever do is insult me, berate me, and generally hurt me with every word you speak. What happened to the sister I used to know, the one who I enjoyed spending time with by the river? You were so sweet and a joy to be around, but now you're horrible and always hurting me." I gasped for breath and looked down at her.

Mira's face was wet with tears and her trembling eyes were tinted red from crying. She weakly pawed at my leg, trying to tell me to let her up, but I didn't listen. She would just yell at me again. _I must silence her._ I wouldn't let her yell at me again. I would not stand to be yelled at once again by this horrible excuse for a sister!

"I hate you, Mira. I hate you so much. All you ever do is hurt me and I'm sick of it. I hate you!" I screamed this as loudly as possible and glared down at her. Mira just stared up at me with wide, watery eyes. I sneered at her as she twitched a couple times before lying still. My lingering fury had me keep up the pressure on her neck for a bit to savor the moment before letting her go.

I was done. I had nothing else to say. I finally got my point across and it felt wonderful to get it off my chest. I slowly stepped off of her and backed away, briefly wondering if I physically hurt her before shrugging. She was fine, I didn't use too much force. Seconds passed as I waited for her to get up and run off sobbing or something, most likely running back to Raoul so he could comfort her. After all, mating is _so_ much more important that one's kin. It would take but a couple short moments for me to realize something was wrong.

Mira wasn't moving. She just laid there like fresh-kill, not even twitching. She was fine, right? I grew worried and took a few tentative steps towards her and felt along her neck and chest. She wasn't fine. There was nothing, not a single twitch. I frantically began to shake her, telling her it wasn't funny anymore, and that she needed to stop messing around. She never responded. I shook her even harder and apologized frantically for exploding at her, but she still remained silent.

I really did it...

I killed my sister...

Once this realization sunk in I held frantically to her body and started sobbing. I screamed and cried in horrified sorrow as I held the corpse close. Mother was right, I am a murderer. I killed her. How could I do this to my own sister? It's unforgivable, an inconceivable tragedy. In my anger, I'd choked my sister to death when she was just here to talk. She wanted to apologize and fix things between us, and I just turned around and killed her.

"Mira, I'm so sorry!" I yelled loudly, hoping she was listening. Oh, Starclan please let Mira be listening. "I never wanted this to happen. I was just angry. You left me and I needed you, I needed you more than anything in the world, but instead of taking you back I killed you. You had a family, a lover, and I took that away! Now I have no one, and Raoul lost his lover and his future kits. I'm so, so sorry."

It hurt too much. The sheer emotional pain ripped into me mentally, digging into my sanity and ripping it apart into bloody chunks as if it was just another piece of fresh-kill. It clung to me and refused to let go, forcing me to stare into the dull eyes of my dead sister. Even in death, my sister's eyes were beautiful and caring. That just made what I did hurt so much more. Oh, sister, how beautiful your eyes were. You were the embodiment of beauty. My eyes trailed down her form, taking in what was once my darling sister when they landed on her distended belly. What was that?

Wait, my sister loved Raoul. They were close, lovers even. It was plain in the way they locked eyes when they thought I wasn't looking, or how close they were whenever they had the chance. It's been about the moon since she left me. She left me for her lover Raoul. The way her belly was bulging like that, it could only mean that she was...

Oh, dear Starclan...

I was shaking at this point: barely able to even stand. I looked down at my paws and the body I was holding onto and smiled a desperate, tear soaked smile. Maybe I could make it up to her. I caused her pain, so I should feel it too. It's only right after all. I can't let Mira feel pain alone: it wouldn't be right. I gently lowered Mira's body and lifted my right foreleg to me face. I must hurt. I must feel pain for my sister. I shakily opened my mouth and bit down on my leg. It hurt, as all wounds do, but I held on. My grip tightened until I was full on biting myself, my fangs splitting my flesh and drawing out small trails of blood that contrasted sharply with my pure white fur. The crimson stains look beautiful, and the pain feels exquisite. I let go and bit myself again in a different spot, savoring the ever intensifying sensation of pain. I want more.

I need more.

"Mira, do you see me? I'm hurting, Mira, just like you must be. You aren't alone in your suffering now. We can hurt together, even if one of us is dead. I'm so sorry Mira, please forgive me. I'll hurt as much as you want me to if it will make up for what I've done!" I broke down laughing, my tears still soaking into my fur as my lungs and throat started drying from the non-stop laughter. I was doing it: I was making up for my atrocious actions. My pain would help make up for my sins and show that I am sorry for what I've done. She needed to know I was sorry. _But I'm not sorry._

I didn't mean to kill her, I just lost control. That's all it was, just a simple case of lost control. I hated her, and I still do, but I never wanted her to die. No, I don't hate her do I? I couldn't tell if I hated her or not. I wanted to hate her, but I wasn't sure if I could. Mira, my dear sister, I'm sorry.

_Can I hate you? I feel as if I can, no as if I must hate you, but the emotion known as hate eludes me. I cannot feel what I desire for your wretched soul, or can I? I don't know, and It hurts too much to think about it. I hate you, yet I love you and I'm sorry for what I've done, but you're gone now. We can't hurt each other anymore._

I heard the sound of a twig snapping nearby and realized Mira had been here for a while, and Raoul must be very worried. He would most likely be very angry after seeing what I did. I didn't want to deal with that, I couldn't bear to face him. It wasn't the fear of pain that had me running, but the realization of what I'd done had me in hysterics, so I and ran. Like a coward, I ran from my mistake. I wouldn't be seen around there again. I couldn't bear to return to this place with all of its painful memories.

I couldn't bring myself to return to those I had wronged.

\- (Present) -

"I ran for a day or two before running into you. By then I was calmed down enough to talk even though I didn't want to. The rest you already know." I said. Dancer was silent, staring at me with wide eyes. I suddenly found myself buried in Dancer's comforting embrace. My eyes flew wide open and I stared up at him. It was shocking to think he would be so understanding when he held familial bonds in such high regard. I remember one time when he beat a tom nearly to death for striking his brother. I felt the water of tears forming and buried my face in his fur.

"Dear Starclan, how could something like this happen to someone so young?" Dancer asked in a shaky voice. I felt tears in his fur and smiled. He always cared for me. He was like the father I never had, and that meant more to me than anything right now. I nuzzled into his ebony fur and sighed. Why did all this have to happen to me? Why was I made to cause and received so much suffering, only to be gifted with someone like him?

"Blur," Dancer said as he looked down at me. "I want you to do something for me. I can't take care of you here, and there is no way you can heal in this kind of environment, so I want you to head south. There is a group of four clans to the there that you know well if what you said about your parents is true. I want you to go back there and see about joining one of them, do whatever you must to get in. Learn the ways of the warrior and free yourself from your eternal bloodlust, and allow them to help shoulder your burdens. These memories are far too heavy for you to carry alone."

"Wait, why should I? I can just stay here with you and try to calm my desire to kill by interacting with the other cats around here. Besides, that place holds too many painful reminders of my sins, and the last thing I need is a constant reminder of them. Do you want me to snap again?" I asked him rather angrily. His home was more than big enough for the two of us and with his old age, I would be able to take care of him when he grows too old to do so himself. Healing my own mental and emotional wounds didn't matter to me nearly as much as he did. Dancer got up silently and moved towards the entrance. He stopped and stared up at the clouds with a contemplative gaze.

"You need it, Blur. The clans are peaceful nowadays if what I know from my informants is true. Sure there is the occasional conflict, but no one is seeking to gain total control or kill everyone else on orders from some dead murderer. You won't be roped into any conspiracies or forced to take any lives. You can finally find peace." Dancer had a point. The city was full of cats that would either mistake me for easy prey or recognize me and see me as a threat which needed to be removed. Hell, the guards stationed here were most likely there on orders from someone with a grudge against me. Going to the lake's clans could give me a fresh start, but only if I managed to join one of them.

"Then it is decided." I grudgingly stated as I walked over to Dancer. "I will be heading out now. I hope I will be able to find this peace you mentioned. Would it be OK if I came back to visit occasionally?"

"That is fine with me!" Dancer replied with a grin. "Promise me next time you visit it will be as a warrior. Also, when you get there stay near the edge of the border and call out to them. They don't take kindly to others just waltzing into their territory."

I chuckled and said, "but, of course, my friend. The last thing any of us would want is for me to have more enemies. I just hope you're still alive when I come back!" We both chuckled as we left Dancer's home. I did feel a little embarrassed when Dancer yelled at me for leaving all the bodies scattered about. He made me help move them into a dumpster after I had my fill of flesh course, then we said our farewells.

Now I just needed to figure out how was going to clean off all this dried blood.

\- (Dancer's POV) -

There he goes. I doubt I'll ever see him again, but at the very least I pointed him in the right direction. He should be able to finally find peace after everything he's been through and it would be selfish to try and hold him here with me. I also knew for a fact it wouldn't be healthy for him. I mean seriously, how is he even able to think sanely after all this time? He went from insane to sane, then fell back into insanity before healing once again. I would have broken long ago from half of what he's suffered through, and I would never have been able to rise out of that pit. Blur truly is something else.

"That was reckless my friend."

Now that's a familiar voice. I turned around and saw a pair of icy blue eyes shining in the corners of the room, or anywhere with a big enough shadow. The body was shrouded in said shadows, allowing one to see a faint silhouette at the most.

"What did you want me to do? He might already suspect something. Blur is much smarter than you give him credit for, and I wasn't going to risk obliterating the hopefully unbreakable trust he has in me. I handled this the best way possible, even though it's likely he won't go along with our plans." I replied. It was true, and this was the safest way I could have handled this part of the plan. The mysterious cat chuckled, obviously happy now that I gave my explanation.

"I guess I can thank you then. This will ensure the safety of the four clans, and make up for my own sins. Hopefully, when this is all over I can find my peace as well." The eyes began to fade as he spoke. "Now, you need to find your own peace. Good luck, Dancer."

They were gone now. All the eyes that seemed to stare into my soul were gone. I made my way to one of the beds and made myself comfortable. Now I can seek out my peace though I was sure that I had already found it.


	5. CH4: A Blurry Snowflake in the Shadows

**Hello, everyone!**

**I don't have much to say here besides the fact that I need some ideas and feedback. I'm mostly looking for OCs since, if you look at the character list, there isn't quite as many as I wished for. I want to have most if not all of the cats in the clans named and have some level of importance even if it is just a small scene and later mentions. Create backgrounds for the characters, but nothing too over the top please since they should be at least a little flexible. Do be conscious of the sizes of the lists before you offer up an OC for a certain clan, as I might move him/her if I can't fit them in where you want them.**

**Now, since that seems to be everything, let us continue with the story!**

There were four clans that lived around the lake. There was Thunderclan, a group of brave warriors with great determination in the face of adversity. My father lived there and I'm almost certain that uncle Barkpelt would be more than cross with me, so that takes away most of the clan's appeal. I doubt that I would do well in Riverclan since I lack any skill with swimming. That only leaves Windclan and Shadowclan. If my memory serves correctly then Shadowclan will be closer. It wouldn't hurt to check there first and move on if it is apparent that I will not be welcome. With my decision made I stood up and walked towards the territory of shadowed trees.

It was rather peaceful here. The trees offered enough shade to prevent me from overheating during summer, or Greenleaf as the clan cats like to call it. There is a connection to a water source nearby so I can hopefully get myself clean again after bloody battles or kills, and there should be a good amount of room inside the camp for me to relax after said activities. I guess this means my first stop should be Shadowclan.

As I began walking into the shadowed territory I couldn't help but think I was forgetting something. Did I possibly forget to eat my midday meal? No, that's not it, I remember gorging myself on that fat house cat on the way here. I guess if I forgot it so easily then it must not be important.

**\- (POV: Oakpath) -**

Wow, that tom is stupid. He didn't pay any attention to the border's scent markers and just walked in leisurely with a stupid grin on his face. I couldn't explain it, but for some reason, that grin annoyed me. It was almost like he was mocking me, telling me I was inferior and nothing but a plaything for him. It would be for the best if I dealt with him quickly so I could get back to hunting. Ebonstar was putting me through one of her routine assessments and I didn't want to disappoint her.

Sticking to the shadows as I was taught, I followed the unknown cat on his oblivious walk through our territory. He would stop and smell a plant or glare at something that somehow caught his interest. It seemed like he was just minding his own business and exploring the area. That set off a few alarms since he could be a rogue looking for our camp or something like that. When he stopped by a tree stump to seemingly rest for a bit, and his back was turned to me, I shot from the shadows as quietly as possible for a cat of my size and was about to tackle him when something amazing happened.

He seemed to vanish in a blur of white, leaving me to smack face first into the tree stump. I stumbled around trying to get my bearing when I heard loud giggles coming from that strange white cat. I turned to him and saw him almost collapsed on the ground laughing like this was some kind of game. I hissed at the annoying intruder and charged again, only to have him dash to the side once again. He laughed some more and looked around the clearing with newfound interest.

"You're too slow big guy. Even trying to get close will lead to failure, so why not just stop playing this little game of tag before it really gets started? You wouldn't be any fun to play with anyways!" The tom exclaimed with a loud chuckle. I bristled at the jab at my skills as a warrior and hissed loudly at him. He fell silent and regarded me with an interested gaze, his head tilted slightly to the right and his eyes narrowed to violet slits.

That was another thing about him that I found strange and more than a little disturbing. Besides his insane speed, his eyes were colored a vibrant shade of violet, a color that I am almost certain is not normal. He must have noticed I was observing him and moved so I had a better view of him, or more specifically his rear end. He sent me a look over his shoulder and wiggled his rather large rear at me.

"I noticed you were staring, you rude clan cat. If you want, we could just skip the fight and I'll let you mate me instead." He said. His statement was obviously a taunt and I found myself not only embarrassed but also very angry at his flippant dismissal of me as any form of a threat. I charged without thinking and tried to bring him down, only to miss yet again. I turned and saw him standing in what was obviously a practiced combat stance. His paws were placed in such a way that he could quickly dash out of the way when I attacked, but also had a perfect position to charge from. He knew he was faster than me and was intending on using that to his advantage.

This was not going to be easy.

**\- (POV: Blur) -**

I just couldn't help but giggle at the hot-headed warrior. He was obviously out of his league with this fight but was intending on going through with it anyways. His advantage here would be his strength and constitution while I have speed and a smaller size to counter this. I entered my battle stance and grinned a cute little grin. I even showed some of my pearly white teeth! Oh, how master loved my grin. He told me every chance he got that it could brighten his day no matter what problems assaulted his weary mind.

A loud yowl broke me from my pleasant thoughts of the good old days and I looked up, only to find the large brown cat barrelling towards me with a furious expression. I quickly dashed to my right and raked my claws down his side. He yelped in what I assumed to be mostly shock from the unexpectedly fast attack and gave his wound a once over before entering his stance again.

With this impossibly huge opening, I managed to score a couple more scratches on him before he spun around and struck me in the face with a paw. His claws dug into my flesh and left only a few shallow cuts since they weren't very long, but the concussive force was what really got me. The impact staggered me enough for him to land another thunderous hit before I retaliated with a quick stab at his shoulder. I had learned a long time ago that stabs were not often expected and rarely ever worked outside of executions, but thanks to my extra-large and very sharp claws I managed to pull it off. This kind of attack allowed me to get a very strong grip on my opponent and gave cutting attacks a much deeper wound. Now that I had a grip on him I struck several times with my other paw, shallow cuts, and the occasional medium-sized gash coating his chest and shoulders as I attacked with a reckless abandon.

Say what you want about his lack of skill, this warrior could definitely take a hit. I disengaged my grapple after taking a nasty slap to one of my ears and moved around his side to land another flurry of shallow cuts on him. He tried to claw me but didn't have the speed to do so. I ducked under his strike and went for a shoulder to try and disable one of his limbs. He must have noticed what I was doing because at the very last second he managed to mow me down and crush me underneath his considerable weight. The warrior used this to his advantage by biting and clawing at me where he could. It was obvious he wasn't trying to seriously wound me since he avoided going for any crippling or lethal strikes.

The fool.

A quick swipe of my claws nearly would have torn his throat open if it weren't for his honed reflexes. He saw my strike coming and barely pulled back enough so that my claws nicked just below his jaw. The killing blow had him reeling back in shock and near tangible fear which lowered his guard enough for me to escape his clutches. I quickly rolled away and, once I was sure of my balance, pounced on him. My claws hooked into his shoulders as I landed on his back and proceeded to bite into the back of his neck. With my jaws locked on his neck, I was able to use one of my paws to smack his ear in a petty show of vengeance for his previous attack. A cat's ears are rather sensitive if you didn't already know that, so a strike to the ear on a weak or inexperienced warrior can disorient them for a few short moments.

This moment of respite allowed me to put the larger tom on his back and pin him there with my claws poking his chest just before his neck as a warning. He grunted and glared up at me with a cute expression of fury and a very minute touch of fear. Oh, how I wish he would just cooperate with me. He was so muscular and his smooth fur was a shade of brown that complimented his eyes quite nicely. I couldn't help myself and gently nipped his muscular chest, not hard enough to hurt and judging by his gasp and subsequent squirming it must have felt good. It's been so long since I had someone at my mercy like this and it was turning me on.

It sucks that I have to kill him, but I guess I could have my way with his body afterward. I'd even be able to have a drink while I had my fun too! Now that did sound quite appealing.

I placed my claws on his throat and was about to apply pressure when a dark figure shot from a nearby bush and knocked me away. I tumbled over onto my back and groaned. My side was really sore from that hit. Whoever that was is so going to pay for their unwelcome intervention. Having someone else try and stop one of my fights is a major peeve of mine, especially when it could have had such a wonderful ending as this one would have.

I was about to stand when another figure shot out and pinned me down with but a single paw. It would be expected from those who knew me that I would be angry at someone toying with me like that, but this wasn't your regular inexperienced warrior. A quick glimpse of the cat's figure showed me the biggest regular cat I have ever seen. He was much bigger than that cat I was just fighting that's for sure! He was freakishly huge and very muscular, with a lot of fur and bright blue eyes full of what seemed to be disappointment over something I did or was intending on doing. It was like I was his kit and he was scolding me with just his eyes, which was a major turn off for me.

I scoffed and looked away while trying to give my cutest little pouty face.

It didn't work.

I scoffed once again and turned disdainfully to the other figure. She was an average sized black she-cat with dark brown eyes. Her stance was confident and indicative of a great amount of experience. I couldn't help but to eye her stance appreciatively. I found the way she managed to exude an air of such determined confidence and disproportionate strength intriguing. She noticed I was staring at her and turned to me with a stern expression that did little to intimidate me. In fact, it almost seemed like a scolding instead of a non-verbal threat.

I couldn't help myself.

I laughed.

**\- (Ebonstar's POV) -**

Once the young intruder was pinned I was at Oakpath's side immediately. He was covered in wounds ranging from shallow cuts and bruises to deep gashes that would need attention soon. He seemed more frustrated than in pain so I decided to check out the intruder. His pelt was a pure shade of white, almost as if it was made of fresh snow, and underneath it was obvious he was well trained. His muscles were lean and meant for speed, and if you couple that with his unnaturally long claws then you get a cat who can be quite a deadly fighter.

Another aspect of interest were his bright violet eyes. Their bizarre coloring aside, they carried a strange broken taint to them. It looked almost as if he'd just given up, but on what? Those glowing orbs locked onto me and I couldn't help but shiver slightly from the sheer intensity in them. His stare made me feel as if I was just a piece of fresh kill for him to indulge in, and in more ways than one. Those eyes made me nervous, no doubt about it, and I knew he picked up on that.

I sent him a stern glare only to receive a loud and cruel laugh in response. He broke down laughing and lifted a paw to his face as he thrashed side to side. I was very confused and more than a little disturbed as I waited for him to finish. Once he did he stared directly at me and broke into a wide grin that showed off his large and very sharp fangs. He sighed and started to speak.

"Well aren't you an interesting one, little miss blackness. Your stance is so full of confidence, yet you almost seem disturbed or afraid of me. Your stern expression that is reminiscent of a mother scolding her kits amuses me to no end because, despite all your efforts, it's just fake bravery." He said with a cruel tone to match his cruel expression. His eyes softened as he relaxed as best he could in Fluffear's grasp and stared up at the huge warrior though I suspect he's not actually looking at him. "I never expected this kind of welcome. I was told you all are generally accepting of outsiders. My informant must have given me some bad information."

"I assure you that we are welcoming to outsiders. It's just that you entered our territory without warning, and Oakpath thought you were a rogue or Loner with possibly malevolent intent so was only doing his job. If you don't mind me asking, what is your name and why are you here? I would also like to know who this informant is." I asked. He sent Oakpath a brief glare of annoyance before replying.

"My name is Blur Striker, but you may call me Blur. My informant is an old friend of mine that mentioned a place where I could find a form of peace that was impossible to obtain in the city while still avoiding the insult of living a kitty pet's life. I accepted and he pointed me in the direction of this lake. I used to live close by at one point and knew enough about the clans to say that Shadowclan seemed like a nice place, and it being a closer destination from where I was previously played a pretty big part in my decision." Blur Striker's reply was long but not very informative.

This nameless friend of his knew of the clans' welcoming nature and sent him here to try and become a warrior, if what this tom said is to be believed. It is very unlikely that his "informant" would neglect to mention the borders and the proper way to gain entrance, but there is still the possibility that he did. Another point of interest was that Blur Striker never mentioned how much he knew about the Clans other than his living nearby at some point. Did he meet a patrol one day and decide to strike up a conversation? No one mentioned anything about him before so that couldn't be the case. I still found myself actually thinking of accepting him into the clan, but now my biggest concern would be if he was cut out for a position should I decide to let him in.

Being a warrior is not easy and I was a little worried about his small size and frail appearance. Sure he seemed well muscled but he didn't look like he could take many hits. I would go so far as to say his appearance was almost that of a pampered kitty-pet. His form was so curvy in certain parts and thin in others that I almost mistook him for a she-cat! I mean seriously, how does a tom get those kinds of curves?

"If you are done checking me out I would appreciate it if you could get this hunk off of me," He grumbled though he didn't sound like he minded his current situation as much as he did earlier. "While he is quite attractive I find myself growing tired of lying here on my back unless one of you wants to take advantage of my vulnerability. I wouldn't mind it in the least."

Did... Did he just ask us if we wanted to mate with him? That was rather unexpected, and definitely not on my list of things I'd like to do at the moment. It was highly inappropriate to begin with and I already had a mate. I just gave him an exasperated look as I motioned for Fluffear to let him up. Blur, as he wants to be called, stood up and stretched. A few loud cracks and a sigh of content echoed in the clearing as he loosened himself up. It sounded rather painful to me. He shook out his fur and leisurely made his way over to me, standing barely a claw's breadth away and putting all of us on edge.

"So you're the leader of this little group? I must say I'm not impressed, but there has to be a reason for your rank. If you'd be so polite as to escort me to your camp I would greatly appreciate it. I'm growing rather bored just sitting here." He said in a husky whisper. I found myself growing uncomfortable and this must have amused him. Blur let out another loud chuckle and went to stand just a little bit behind me. "Lead way, oh fearless leader."

"I don't remember ever agreeing to you becoming one of my warriors," I replied angrily. He was really grating on me, yet I was actually considering allowing him to join us! Dear Starclan, I have to be desperate for warriors or something. Blur must have noticed something in my expression since all he did was smile knowingly. "Fine, just stay close to us. If you wander off we won't hesitate to kill you."

"I highly doubt that, but I guess I can try to be on my best behavior for you." Blur said in a dramatically defeated tone though his smile betrayed his amusement if his tone didn't. I couldn't expect much more out of him and I really needed to get back, so with a sigh of resignation I allowed this disturbing tom to follow us back. It was really strange, but I felt almost compelled to let this mad cat join us, almost as if Starclan itself was pushing this to happen.

I just hope this was the right choice.

**\- (Blur's POV) -**

It's so cute how they don't trust me, but I guess that's to be expected. I did trespass on their territory and nearly kill one of their warriors. It would have been nice to be able to finish the act, but that shall be saved for another time. Who knows, I might grow to actually like this tom. He's handsome, strong and has a decent fighting spirit. He might even be willing to have some fun with me later! I started drooling a little at the thought of what he might be hiding between those thick hind legs when I realized something important. I don't know his name. I'd better remedy that immediately.

"So tell me, tom I just fought, what is your name?" I asked. I tried to make my voice seem happy and curious to get him to open up to me, but I doubt that worked.

"Its Oakpath, now shut up and don't talk to me." He hissed quietly as he spoke. Well, that was rude. I sent him a glare and whipped him right on his delicious rear end with my tail. Having used the appendage for so long as a tool in combat it developed a decent amount of muscle, and being able to control it at an above average level helped that out a lot as well. I felt myself shudder a little as a soft smack echoed from where I struck the brown tom. His butt was nice and taut, just the way I love them. Oakpath yelped loudly and hissed at me. He was obviously flustered and I giggled openly at him. If you're going to be rude to me, then I'll return the favor handsome.

"Would you two stop it already? We're almost near the camp so try to tolerate each other for a little while longer." The huge warrior's rumbling command fell on deaf ears as we were about to pounce on each other. He pushed in between us and sent us both a withering glare. I nearly fell over from the tom's intrusion while Oakpath just stumbled a bit. Damn that lucky tom for being able to put on weight!

"Alright, I see you two won't be able to handle this without coming to blows. How about we start off by introducing each other? My grandfather told me that getting to know each other can help turn bitter rivals into close friends, so we're going to play the introduction game! I'll start us off. My name is Fluffear and I'm Oakpath's father. I like to fight, train apprentices and play with kits. I dislike birds and snakes. You next Oakpath."

Oakpath grumbled angrily but complied. He looked at me and said, "My name is Oakpath and I'm a noble member of Shadowclan. I recently made the rank of Warrior with the best marks our leader has ever seen. I like fighting, training, and on a few rare occasions swimming. I dislike having to wake up early and dealing with filthy, violet-eyed rogues."

I bristled at his obvious jab at me and replied in a sinister tone, "My name is Blur Striker. I'm a bloodthirsty rogue who is much better at combat than any pathetic warrior." I couldn't help but to mentally chuckle at Oakpath's indignant hiss and continued in a much more civil tone. "I like fighting, running, fluffy things and the color purple."

Fluffear sent us both an annoyed look for our acidic jabs at each other but shrugged it off. We must have appeased him if only just a little bit. After that, we lapsed into an uncomfortable silence. Two of the four of us were almost ready to tear each other's throats out, one just decided to give up, another was deep in thought and no one could find something engaging to talk about. We just kept on walking in the same unbearable silence until we reached our destination.

Lying a short distance away was a huge vaguely circular area surrounded by brambles and low hanging branches that provided enough shade to ensure it was well hidden. A large stone boulder sat in front of the entrance with enough room for us to easily enter, but not too big so as to allow a horde to storm in. I spotted a medium sized pool off to the side and found my eyes wandering up to the treetops where the occasional flash of a pair of eyes could be seen. All in all, this was a pretty well-made camp. Most of it seemed natural too. This was quite the find.

"Do you like it? A long time ago there was an incident in our old territory and we had to leave along with the other clans. I wasn't around at the time and neither were our elders and warriors, but the stories have since then been passed down to each new generation." Ebonstar said as she pushed through the entrance. I followed after her and gasped at the sight. The camp was beautiful. There was a lot of space to move around, the dens looked comfy and practically radiated a welcoming aura, and the scattered groups of different cats were smiling and enjoying peaceful conversations or grooming each other.

This place...

It's perfect.

Ebonstar tapped me on the shoulder and I turned to her with a genuine smile replacing my cruel little grin. She looked taken aback for a moment before returning the smile with a gleaming little grin. She had me follow her over to the middle of the camp and everyone stopped what they were doing to gather around. It seemed as if she was well respected among her clanmates despite her apparent lack of social skills. I have to wonder why that is.

"Shadowclan, I have good news to share with all of you. Today Oakpath found this tom wandering in our territory looking for something. After a small misunderstanding, we learned that he was told of our clan from a friend of his, and decided to seek us out. From what I have gathered this tom is trying to find a peaceful and welcoming place to call home, so it has been agreed upon that he will be joining our clan." Ebonstar said clearly over the rumbling murmurs of the other cats. "Blur Striker, please step forward."

I walked the last couple of steps and stood before her with my head cocked to the right, confused as to what was going on. Was I going to have to fight her? Was she going to make me recite some sort of oath? She gave me a stern once-over before nodding, though if it was approval or just acknowledgment I wasn't too sure.

"From this day forward, until you have earned your warrior name, you shall be known as Blurpaw. We all welcome you as a new member of Shadowclan." Ebonstar paused so that the other cats could cheer my new name. I could only stare with wide eyes at the fact that I was just having my name changed out of the blue like that. It annoyed me since I worked hard for the "Striker" title. Back in the city, you have your given name and then a special title, or in some cases multiple titles based on your major achievements. I got "Striker" from my rapid strikes, plus a few others that I found didn't fit too well with "Blur."

"Now that you have been accepted, you must be given a mentor. This mentor shall remain with you until you reach twelve moons of age or until you have been sufficiently trained. Oakpath, please step forward." Ebonstar looked slightly to my left and I glimpsed that insufferable warrior's twitching face. I had a feeling that I knew what was happening, but if it made him this angry just hearing it, then I guess I could tolerate our little partnership. This could be the perfect opportunity for me put that buffoon in his place and force a little respect or, at least, a modicum of civility out of him.

Oh, I do love the sound of fancy words.

"Oakpath, you have just been made a warrior only a day ago, and I believe that this chance shall give you some much-needed experience. From this day forward you shall be Blurpaw's mentor." Ebonstar said with finality. If I remember correctly from when I was really little, my uncle said that apprentices touch noses with their new mentors. It was likely used as a sign of trust or a way of finalizing the agreement, like humans and their "handshakes." I moved so I was standing right in front of Oakpath and leaned in so my nose was pressed against his, my grin once more overtaking my previously lighthearted smile.

"Just so you know, I still hate you. You filthy rogue," Oakpath hissed under his breath. I giggled quietly and pushed harder against him, the pissed off warrior returning the gesture.

"Well, the feeling is mutual my friend or should I say, master," I replied with a sultry voice. I could almost see him blushing underneath his fur as he hissed at me. I gave him a discreet lick to his lips and said in a breathy whisper, "You're my master now, Oakpath. That means I'm forced to do as you say. I hope you can keep your orders clean."

Oakpath jerked back and hissed at me while I giggled at him once again. He was just too fun to mess with! I sent a happy little smile to the confused assembly and bowed my head to both Oakpath and Ebonstar. This was going to be so much fun, I could feel it.

"You have got to be kidding me!"

We all froze and turned to stare at the she-cat who yelled that. She was a mix of light and dark brown with white markings and a black belly. Her amber eyes glared up at me with undisguised hatred and contempt. I couldn't stop a tiny grin from forming as I sent her a dismissive look and scoffed. She bristled even more and hissed venomously at me.

"This filthy, scrawny piece of crow food isn't worthy of even looking at our camp. What makes you think we would accept someone who looks like a liability? If that doesn't faze you then, at least, remember that he's a rogue. He doesn't know anything about us and won't understand the warrior code. He holds no connection or obligation to this clan. How could he possibly fit in here? He's weak, ignorant and we know nothing about him."

"Is that what you think?" I asked her with my best "cute" smile. She hissed up at me and I broke out into giggles. Oh, you sorry little fool, how little you truly know about anything. I guess it would be alright to play with her for a bit. She did insult me after all. "Well if you would question my ability, then stand with this "clan pride" I've heard Oakpath mention and challenge me. I'll beat some respect out of that thick skull of yours and show you all that I can be a valuable member of this clan."

"Big words for such a puny nuisance," she shot back with an adorable expression of fury. How amusing, to think she would actually rise to the bait, and with such a pathetic insult as well. I entered a lax stance with my paws in and my tail raised slightly as if I was modeling for them instead of getting ready for a fight. That did it. She hissed viciously and charged me, leaving herself wide open in her rage. I waited until she was close before dashing to the side, a small cloud of dust following me as I shot across the dry ground. The she-cat tried to follow my movements but I wasn't going to allow her. I shot right up to her, our noses barely a whisker's length away from each other.

She tried to hit me, but I moved just outside of her reach again. I continued dodging like this for a while, jumping and leaning to the sides as her rage tore away whatever accuracy she needed to even hope to hit me. It was nice to have huge stamina reserves because dodging every strike of your opponent really eats away at your reserves. The she-cat over extended on one of her swipes, and I used that chance to partially unsheathe my claws and stab her shoulders. I knew she wouldn't expect a sudden stabbing attack and it threw her off, giving me the opportunity to strike her in the ear as hard as I could. This strike disoriented her and let me get in a couple hits on her legs before knocking her over. I would never have been able to do this if she knew what to expect, but she didn't, and I was going to use that to my advantage. My teeth closed around her throat enough so that I had her pinned but not bleeding

You know, in these kinds of situations you would expect the opponent to show some sense of self-preservation and back down. You wouldn't want to risk bleeding to death trying to wiggle free would you? Well, this idiotic she-cat seemed to enjoy the idea of bleeding to death. Sure she wiggled out of my grip and pinned me instead, but if this was a real fight she would have been missing a little something between her chin and shoulders. Her jaws closed around my left shoulder and bit as hard as she could.

It tickled.

I retaliated with a few swift kicks to her belly. The hard and rapid strikes sent enough concussive force into her lower abdominal area to force a little yelp out of her, but she still managed to keep a decent grasp on me. I allowed my claws to slide free with my last two strikes and the fresh wounds forced the large she-cat to finally get off me. My hits staggered her and gave me the opportunity to go for one of her forelegs to throw her off balance, and once again I found myself pinning her down. There was no way that I was letting this foolish she-cat best me, not when she was so pathetically green when it comes to battle. When I put her in another hold I made sure to apply a decent amount of pressure. A few tiny pricks of her sweet blood dripped from around my teeth as I applied just the right amount of pressure, causing her to immediately freeze up.

Perfect.

She knew her place.

As I contemplated tearing her throat out like the prey she was, Ebonstar yowled as loud as she could to get the clan's attention. The sudden noise broke me out of my little daze and I released my hold on the she-cat's neck to look at my new leader. Ebonstar yelled for us all to stop and made her way over with her claws unsheathed and her face scrunched up in a snarl reminiscent of a dog's. I quickly got up off my opponent and helped her to her paws. She's a good fighter, I can feel it in the way her muscles moved. There was a great amount of natural instinct to the way she fought, so that would have to mean she had to have seen a decent amount of combat. The only thing holding her back was the downfall of all great warriors: her arrogance. Of course, her lack of a kill count added to her inability to defeat me as well, but that carries a whole other meaning.

Very rarely is an enemy what they seem. I have met kits that were able to slaughter warriors and giants that preferred the mind over their incredible bulk. To think you are special, or even greater than another simply because you are bigger and have training is the epitome of arrogance on the battlefield. Without any true experience you are weak, no questions asked. She hasn't killed and probably hasn't even encountered a killer before, so really there was no doubt that I would have come out on top.

I was broken out of my musings when I felt a tail wrap around my shoulders and I smiled up at Ebonstar. The black furred leader smiled down at me with one of her genuine little smiles. Her show of congratulation came with a hint of pride that filled me with a nostalgic kind of warmth, reminding me of the days when I trained under my previous master. It felt rather pleasant to have a look of true pride being sent my way instead of scorn or fear I have come to expect. It would seem that I have now proven my worth to them all, so now I just had to start making friends and building up a new reputation.

Shouldn't be too hard... right?

Oh, those famous last words.


End file.
